BRICS Foreign Ministers meet ahead of summit

The Foreign Ministers of BRICS met here on Thursday ahead of next month's summit in Kazan in Russia.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on X the meeting "underlined its significance for multi-polarity and global diversity".

Sharing a post on X, EAM Jaishankar wrote, "Just concluded the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of UNGA79. Underlined its significance for multi-polarity and global diversity. Focused on reforming multilateralism and strengthening development."

He added that they "focused on reforming multilateralism and strengthening development" and also "discussed achieving SDG (UN Sustainable Development Goals) targets, addressing debt, promoting fair trade, and overcoming poverty".

"Thank FM Mauro Vieira for convening and chairing the meeting," the post on X added.

Meanwhile, in a series of other tweets, EAM Jaishankar posted pictures of his meetings with several foreign ministers on the sidelines of UNGA.

In a post, he wrote, "Happy to see FM Tim Kabba of Sierra Leone on the sidelines of UNGA79. Appreciate their leadership on reformed multilateralism."

In another post, he wrote, "Good to meet the new Egyptian FM Badr Abdelatty on the sidelines of UNGA 79."

"With FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi of Iran ahead of the BRICS meeting," another post on X by EAM Jaishankar said.

Meanwhile, EAM Jaishankar attended the first-ever Joint Ministerial Meeting of L.69 and C-10 groupings of nations on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

During the meeting, EAM Jaishankar highlighted the need for reform of United Nations Security Council membership in permanent and non-permanent categories. The L.69 Annual Ministerial Meeting meeting was chaired by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph E Gonsalves, in his capacity as Spokesperson of the L.69, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) press statement.

Created as an economy-focused group by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, it has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and evolved to also consider geopolitical issues..

With BRICS emerging as a new point of focus in a multipolar world, several more countries are seeking membership.

This week, Afghanistan's Taliban regime asked to attend the summit meeting in Kazan.