MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed speeding up creation of vaccine research center for BRICS countries on Tuesday as he opened a virtual summit of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping focusing on economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday.

Russia, the virtual host, has ruled out any possibility of the forum being used to address any bilateral issue. Putin in his address said India and China could start producing Russian Sputnik V vaccine, as a counter to the pandemic, with the world racing to find an effective shot quickly.

Measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation in counter-terrorism, trade, health, energy and people to people exchanges were discussed. The grouping said that the leaders discussed intra-BRICS cooperation and key issues in the global context.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address later in the virtual summit, advocated for reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Modi also said that reforms are required in IMF, WTO and WHO, while addressing the leaders of Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa.

During his address, Modi also termed terrorism as the biggest challenge and called on the BRICS country to act against those countries who support the terror groups.

“We have to ensure that the countries that support the terrorists are held accountable and this problem is tackled in an organized manner,” Modi said. “Terrorism is the biggest problem the world is facing today,” he added.

In response to Modi’s statement on terror, Putin commented: “There is always a black sheep in the family.”

At the invitation of Putin, Modi is participating in the virtual BRICS summit with the theme “Global stability, shared security and innovative growth”.

The summit’s agenda includes intra-BRICS cooperation, key global issues such as reforming the multilateral system, measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, counter-terrorism cooperation, trade, health and energy, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava tweeted.

This is the second time Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are on the same virtual platform since the India-China border standoff emerged in the open in May. In his address Jinping said, “We all are passengers in the same boat and the wind is rough.”

In his address, Modi briefly talked about the concept of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. “Due to the strength of India’s pharma sector, we were able to provide medicines to over 150 countries during COVID-lockdown era,” Modi said, adding that India’s vaccine production and delivery ability will help mankind in the same way.

Lauding Russia’s leadership, Modi said several initiatives were taken to improve people-to-people connections such as BRICS film festival, meetings of young scientists etc

India, modi said, is a firm supporter of multilateralism. “We have been firmly committed to the values of the United Nations. Questions are being raised on the effectiveness of global institutions. The main reason is because they have not changed with time.”

India will take over as the chair of BRICS after the summit, and will host the 13th summit in 2021. During its leadership of BRICS, India will promote digital health and traditional medicine among BRICS countries, Modi said.

“In 2021, BRICS will complete 15 years. Our 'sherpas' can make a report to evaluate the various decisions taken by us in the past years,” Modi said. — Agencies