BRICS members appreciate India's role in COVID-19 vaccine distribution

India's BRICS Sherpa Sanjay Bhattacharyya on Thursday said that the bloc's member nations have appreciated New Delhi's role in COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

"In the distribution of vaccines, all the BRICS members were very appreciative of our role, not only as a major country producing vaccines but also distributing in times when we had a large number of people affected by it," Bhattacharyya said at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

"Members agreed for extensive vaccination and the development of vaccines," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 13th BRICS Summit on Thursday. He called for BRICS to contribute to post-COVID global recovery on the motto 'build-back resiliently, innovatively, credibly, and sustainably'.

"COVID-19 was reflected at the BRICS discussion by all the leaders and it has also been mentioned in the 'New Delhi Declaration," Bhattacharyya added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping participated in the meeting.

At the conclusion of the summit, the New Delhi Declaration was adopted. In the document, the BRICS leaders highlighted the need for cooperation on the study of origins of the SARS-COV-2 - an important aspect of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

BRICS members called "COVID-19 extensive immunisation as a global public good. Recognised the importance of experience and knowledge-sharing on Traditional Medicines".

( With inputs from ANI )