Russia postpones BRICS, SCO summits slated for July amid COVID-19 crisis

Russia on Wednesday postponed the upcoming BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits in view of the Coronavirus pandemic and said the new dates for them will be determined on the basis of the epidemiological situation in the countries participating in these associations, and around the world. Russia is the current chair of BRICS and SCO and the summits were due in late July.

In a statement, Kremlin said, "In view of the coronavirus pandemic and the related restrictions, the Organising Committee to Prepare and Support Russia’s SCO Presidency in 2019–2020 and BRICS Chairmanship in 2020 decided to postpone the BRICS leaders’ meeting and the meetings of the SCO Heads of State Council, initially scheduled to take place on July 21–23, 2020, in St Petersburg. The new dates for these summits will be determined on the basis of the epidemiological situation in the states participating in these associations, and around the world."

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Coronavirus pandemic

The decision comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in the world has crossed 5.6 million and has topped the death toll past 3.5 lakh. Russia is the third hardest-hit country in the world reporting over 3.7 lakh cases so far, but with a very low death toll of under 4,000. China, a key member of both BRICS and SCO and where the coronavirus originated, has gradually reopened the country after containing the outbreak, though the figures have been contested.

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Multilateral groups

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent inter-governmental international organisation led by China. SCO members include China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The grouping is primarily focused on security and economic cooperation.

BRICS, on the other hand, is an international association of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and is a key multilateral forum of the developing world. The bloc has promoted cooperation in fields of economy, finance, trade, and culture. The previous summit was held in November last year in Brazil.

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