Sunday saw the launch of the BRICS Business Forum, the leaders' arrivals, as well as some bilateral meetings — for example, between the Russian and Chinese presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
This year, the summit is being held in a "BRICS Plus format," which means that apart from the five member-states, other countries have been invited: Egypt, Mexico, Thailand, Guinea and Tajikistan.
Deadly Terrorist Attacks
"We strongly condemn terrorist attacks resulting in the death of innocent Afghan nationals. There is a need for immediate cessation of violence," the joint declaration read.
Crisis in Yemen
BRICS leaders on Monday expressed their concern over the crisis in Yemen and called on all parties to cease hostilities and engage in the UN-supported settlement negotiations, the final declaration of the Xiamen Summit reads.
"We also call on all parties directly involved in the current diplomatic crisis in the Gulf region to overcome their dissensions through dialogue and welcome the efforts of Kuwaiti mediation in this regard," the declaration continues.
Mosul Liberation
The leaders of the BRICS member states congratulated the Iraqi government on the liberation and recovery of Mosul and reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern nation.
"We congratulate the people and Government of Iraq for the recovery of Mosul and for the progress achieved in the fight against terrorism and reaffirm our commitment to Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence and our support for Iraqi government and its people," the document said.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The leaders of the BRICS member states reiterated the need for a comprehensive, sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to achieve peace and stability in the region.
"We reiterate the urgent need for a just, lasting and comprehensive solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid Principles, the Arab Peace Initiative and previous agreements between the parties through negotiations with a view to creating an independent, viable, territorially contiguous Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel," the joint declaration read.
Arms in Space
Russia and China submitted an updated draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space.
"Reaffirming that outer space shall remain free from any kind of weapons or any use of force, we stress that negotiations for the conclusion of an international agreement or agreements to prevent an arms race in outer space are a priority task of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, and support the efforts to start substantive work, inter alia, based on the updated draft treaty on the prevention of the placement weapons in outer space and threat or use of force against outer space objects submitted by China and the Russian Federation," the document adopted at the BRICS summit said.
"We reiterate that outer space shall be free for peaceful exploration and use by all States on the basis of equality in accordance with international law … We also note an international initiative for a political obligation on the no first placement of weapons in outer space," the declaration reads.
Digital Security Agreement Initiative
"We note with satisfaction the progress achieved by the Working Group of Experts of the BRICS States on Security in the use of ICTs [Information and Communication Technologies]… [We] acknowledge the initiative of the Russian Federation on a BRICS inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in ensuring security in the use of ICTs" the declaration reads.
Corruption
Leaders of the BRICS countries advocate strengthening cooperation in the fight against corruption, as well as in asset recovery and the search for corrupt officials, a joint declaration of the BRICS member states said Monday.
"Keenly aware of the negative impact of corruption on sustainable development, we support the efforts to enhance BRICS anti-corruption cooperation. We reaffirm our commitment to intensify dialogue and experience sharing and support compiling a compendium on fighting corruption in BRICS countries. We further acknowledge that illegal flow of the proceeds of corruption impairs economic development and financial stability, and support enhanced cooperation in asset recovery. We support the strengthening of international cooperation against corruption, including through the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group, as well as on matters related to asset recovery and persons sought for corruption," the document said.
National Currencies
The leaders of the five BRICS countries agreed to establish a bond fund in national currencies in order to contribute to capital sustainability in BRICS member states.
"We agree to promote the development of BRICS Local Currency Bond Markets and jointly establish a BRICS Local Currency Bond Fund, as a means of contribution to the capital sustainability of financing in BRICS countries, boosting the development of BRICS domestic and regional bond markets, including by increasing foreign private sector participation, and enhancing financial resilience of BRICS countries," the declaration's text read.
The leaders of the five countries have also agreed to increase the use of national currencies, including in direct investment.
"We agree to communicate closely to enhance currency cooperation, consistent with each central bank's legal mandate, including through currency swap, local currency settlement and local currency direct investment, where appropriate, and to explore more modalities of currency cooperation," the declaration said.
Agriculture
The BRICS countries' leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of food security, trade in agricultural products and investment in this sector.
"Noting the fruitful agricultural cooperation over the past years, we recognize the unique characteristics and complementarity of BRICS countries in agricultural development and vast cooperation potential in this area. In this connection, we agree to deepen cooperation in the five priority areas such as food security and nutrition, adaptation of agriculture to climate change, agricultural technology cooperation and innovation, agricultural trade and investment," the declaration said.
The BRICS member states' heads have also welcomed the establishment of a Coordination Center for the BRICS Agriculture Research Platform in India which should contribute to the implementation of the above-mentioned goals.
Sports Cooperation
The leaders of the BRICS expressed hope that the cooperation in the sphere of sports would strengthen the relations between the citizens of the countries.
"We believe in the importance of sports cooperation to popularizing traditional sports and deepening the friendship among BRICS peoples. Recalling the successful hosting of the BRICS U-17 Football Tournament in Goa in 2016, we commend the success of the First BRICS Games, which was a highlight of this year’s people-to-people exchanges," the document said.
The declaration added that the leaders called on the officials from the relevant departments to sign a memorandum of understanding on sports cooperation between the members of the five-nation organization.
