New Delhi, November 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend XII BRICS Summit today via videoconferencing amid the coronavirus pandemic. The BRICS summit is taking place at a time two of the bloc's members, India and China, are locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over six months.PM Narendra Modi will come face-to-face with China's Xi Jinping virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The summit will discuss various critical issues like- cooperation in counter-terrorism, trade, health, energy, and ways to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. India-China Standoff: Timely Troop Deployment Averted Deeper Incursions by Chinese Army in Galwan Nala Area.

The MEA in a statement said, "India will be taking over the chair of the BRICS, which would be the third BRICS Presidency for India since its inception (after 2012 and 2016) and will host the 13th BRICS summit in 2021."

PM Narendra Modi to Attend 12th Brics Summit: 

The focus of the BRICS summit Today: 

The leaders of BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will be meeting virtually on Tuesday. The focus of the 12th BRICS Summit is likely to be on COVID-19 pandemic, the revival of the global economy, sustainable development, digital economy and global security. The bilateral border conflicts between India and China will not be discussed.

Earlier this year, the 2020 summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS group were postponed in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The summits were scheduled to take place in Russia from July 21 to July 23 in St Petersburg.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 17, 2020 09:03 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).