India attaches importance to its engagements with BRICS which has emerged as a valuable forum for consultation, coordination and cooperation on contemporary global issues of mutual interest and has helped promote mutual understanding, said Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism, Govt. of India while addressing the “Second Meeting of BRICS Culture Ministers” in Tianjin, China yesterday.
He said that India held the BRICS Chairmanship in 2016 and hosted the 8th BRIGS Summit on 15-16 October, 2016 in Goa under the theme ‘Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions’. Each of the BRICS country possesses rich cultural heritage and traditions and we share goodwill, understanding, respect and interest for each other’s cultural heritage. This respect and interest will in times to come contribute towards developing even stronger bonds of friendship, empathy and cooperation.
Sharma said that India will work with China and other BRICS countries on Chair’s priority areas, viz Global economic partnership, global governance, people-to-people exchanges, macroeconomic coordination, Agenda 2030, International peace and stability, open world economy, IMF reform, media, sports, education, traditional medicines, and exchanges among students and scholars and culture. India has bilateral cultural agreements and specific cultural exchange programmes with each of the BRIGS countries. We have been showcasing our rich cultural heritage through Festivals of India organized in China and South Africa already. Preparations are afoot to organize a similar festival in Brazil in September this year and in Russia in the early next year.
He said that under Cultural Mapping of India Scheme, a web portal has been developed for collection of online data from artistes for cultural mapping, which will serve as an artist repository. A sub scheme as a National Mission on Cultural Mapping and Roadmap with a Financial Outlay of Rs 469.40 crore for 2017-2018, 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 has been approved under the umbrella of “Kala Sanskrit! Vikas Yojna”. He said that he looks forward to ideas and initiatives to take forward cultural cooperation among BRICS countries through the BRIGS Alliances and believes that today’s meeting will be a game changer.
