Football, film fest, trade fair: Modi's steps to boost BRICS

Ufa (Russia), July 9  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday proposed a slew of steps, including a film festival, a trade fair and a football event, to boost cooperation among the five BRICS countries.

Addressing the BRICS plenary at the 7th BRICS summit here, Modi proposed "Das Kadam: 10 steps for the future".

These included a trade fair, a railway research centre, cooperation among supreme audit institutions, a digital initiative, an agricultural research centre, a forum of state/local governments among the BRICS nations, cooperation among cities in urbanisation, a sports council and an annual sports meet, the first major project of the New Development Bank to be in the field of clean energy, and a film festival.

Modi, in his address to the BRICS Business Council and the plenary, proposed that the five countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- should host an annual trade fair and that India could host the inaugural fair next year.

India will host the BRICS summit in 2016.

Modi also proposed that as part of the sports cooperation, an annual football event, especially under 15, could be held every year.

He proposed that India could host the football event next year.

Modi also proposed a BRICS film festival and film awards, which he said would give a boost to film-making and people-to-people contact.

He said the Economic Cooperation Strategy being adopted, which includes a number of social initiatives, was a milestone in BRICS 2015 evolution, according to a tweet by external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

On terrorism, Modi said: "We should speak in one voice against terrorism, without distinction and discrimination between groups and countries, sponsors and targets."

He also pointed towards the urgent need for UN Security Council reforms.

"Whatever is the nature of challenge - political, social, and economic - we will be more effective in addressing them if we complete the reforms of the UN, especially its Security Council, within a fixed time frame. These reforms are urgently required, if the global institution is to retain its role and relevance in the 21st century," he said.

Modi also thanked the grouping for making the International Yoga Day on June 21 a success.

"BRICS can be a pillar of hope in a world facing many challenges -its initiatives are not just for itself but for the world," he said.