Kazan [Russia], October 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the BRICS Leaders' Summit in Kazan, Russia, stressed the importance of climate change as a matter of 'common priority' for the partner nations, and highlighted the initiatives taken by India in this direction.
The 16th BRICS Summit is taking place in Kaza, Russia, under Moscow's presidency.
""I want to thank President Putin for the successful organisation of the 16th BRICS Summit. I once again heartily welcome the new colleagues associated with BRICS. In its new form, BRICS represents 40 per cent of the world's humanity and about 30 per cent of the economy," PM Modi said, addressing the BRICS Leaders' Summit on Wednesday.
"The BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre launched in 2022 is helping to enhance the health security of all countries. We will be happy to share India's successful experience in digital health with BRICS partners. Climate change has been a matter of our common priority," he added.
He highlighted the initiatives like Mission LiFE and 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' taken by India to address the issue of climate change.
"In India also, special emphasis is being laid on green growth, climate-resilient infrastructure, and green transition. Initiatives like International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), and 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' have been taken. We started a new initiative like Green Credit during last year's COP Summit," he said.
Prime Minister Modi further elaborated on the rise in connectivity and welcomed the efforts to increase financial integration among the BRICS nations. Citing the success of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) by India, he also called on to increase economic cooperation and promote trade in local currency.
"Special emphasis is being laid on infrastructure in all the BRICS countries. To rapidly increase multimodal connectivity in India, we have created the 'Gatishakti' portal. This has helped in integrated planning and implementation of these developments and has reduced logistics costs. We will be happy to share our experiences with all of you. We welcome efforts to increase financial integration among BRICS countries," PM Modi said.
"Trading in local currency and easy cross-border payments will strengthen our economic cooperation. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) created by India is a big success story of India. It has been adopted in many countries. Last year, we also launched it in UAE in collaboration with Sheikh Mohammed. Cooperation can be done in this with other foreign countries as well," he added.