External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday told BRICS member nations that it was important to support micro, medium and small enterprises in tiding over the coronavirus crisis and ensure that livelihoods are not lost. During a video conference with the foreign ministers of the member nations, he noted that the pandemic had severely hit the global economy and led to loss of jobs and livelihoods.

The members of the BRICS bloc, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, decided to create a $15-billion fund to tide over the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, AP reported, quoting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who convened the meeting.

“We believe that it should become a very good reinforcement for our countries’ economies when they’re coming out of the crisis stage and resume economic operations,” Lavrov said after a video-conference. “Through joint efforts, we will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests and space for development not just for ourselves but also for all other emerging market and developing countries.”

The money will be allocated by The New Development Bank, established by BRICS to provide for infrastructure and development projects, according to Hindustan Times. Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov and Nirmala Sitharaman had been elected chairperson and vice chairperson of the bank’s board on April 22.

Apart from Jaishankar and Lavrov, Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and South Africa’s Grace Naledi Pandor joined the video conference.

Covid-19 has infected more than 30 lakh people and killed more than 2.12 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

China’s appeal to member nations amid US pressure

During the video conference, China urged member nations to unite and “do the right thing”, amid mounting pressure from the US over the origin of Covid-19, PTI reported.

“With its rapid spread in many parts of the world, the Covid-19 has put the lives and health of people around the world under grave threat, seriously disrupted the flow of people worldwide and the global economy, and posed a severe challenge to BRICS,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

“Should we let science and reason prevail or create political divisions, bolster cooperation across borders or isolate ourselves through decoupling, promote multilateral coordination or practice unilateralism?” he asked. “We all need to answer these questions in a way that stands the test of history.”