No Plans to Change BRICS Agenda Due to Coronavirus - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2020) BRICS has no plans of introducing changes to its agenda due to the new coronavirus outbreak across the world, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia began its chairmanship of BRICS with a three-day sherpa meeting. The first gathering is currently taking place in the city of St. Petersburg.

"We assume that all the activities will be held as they were planned. We have a reliable confirmation that all [BRICS] member states will take part in the activities. It [the coronavirus] will affect neither quality nor quantity of the events," Ryabkov said at a briefing.

According to Ryabkov, BRICS countries are ready to closely cooperate with China to defeat the coronavirus outbreak as soon as possible.

"BRICS countries expressed solidarity and supported the Chinese government in its efforts to combat the epidemic of coronavirus," he noted.

Moscow took over the presidency of the group from Brazil in January and announced that the strategy for the country's chairmanship would focus on improving foreign policy coordination between member states while enhancing cooperation primarily within the United Nations. In addition, Russia plans to hold about 150 events, including meetings of ministers, business leaders and experts, throughout the year in 16 cities.

The new strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, was first detected in China's Wuhan in December and has since spread to at least 25 countries. In China alone, the virus has already left more than 1,000 people dead and over 42,000 infected.