BRICS Foreign Ministers to brainstorm on response to COVID-19 today

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will join his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa on Tuesday, as the foreign ministers of BRICS member countries will hold an extraordinary video conference to discuss ways to jointly combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministerial videoconference hosted by Russia, the current rotating head of the BRICS, will also focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international relations, as well as possible joint measures in the fight against the highly dangerous and fast-spreading contagion, according to Russia's Sputnik news agency.

The event will be chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The BRICS presidency from January 1 passed from Brazil to Russia.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide amounts to 30,40,709, with 2,10,842 deaths and 8,93,872 recoveries.

( With inputs from ANI )