Culture is very important in the BRICS bloc and the five countries that make up the organization are deeply connected in terms of values, Indian Culture Minister Meenakshi Lekhi said.
Lekhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Culture, met with BRICS culture ministers in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province ahead of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month.
“Delighted to participate in the 8th BRICS Culture Ministers Meeting in Mpumalanga, South Africa. I signed the declaration of the 8th Assembly of Culture Ministers that will facilitate strong cultural exchanges among BRICS countries,” he tweeted.
“He spoke about the ancient cultural ties between the BRICS countries and how India places culture at the centre of global policy-making through our G20 presidency and the desire to digitize valuable collections to promote the exchange of cultural knowledge,” he said.
Addressing an assembly of the network of local Indians and expatriates at the offices of the Consul General of India on Saturday evening, Lekhi shared some of the concepts he exchanged with his counterparts from India’s BRICS partners: Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
Ministers discussed the importance of international cultural relations and the perspective of cultural industries to boost economic recovery and foster social team spirit in a post-pandemic world.
One of the results of an assembly that the culture ministers of the BRICS bloc agreed on the return of homes that were dispossessed of their countries of origin by the former colonial powers.
“We also discussed the need for a rights-based technique for indigenous communities who have each and every right to maintain their own culture,” Lekhi said.
“Sustainability in the context of culture and digitization of cultural heritage, whether in museums, UNESCO sites, libraries in parts of the world and not in India, is important. Give us at least one scanned copy so we can reference it,” he said.
“Culture is very important as far as the BRICS countries are concerned. These five countries are very deeply connected in terms of culture and values,” he said.
South Africa and India share only one language, but a history of “our struggles and economic systems,” the minister added.
Lekhi said that as the discussions on BRICS progressed, it became very transparent that other people in the BRICS countries were culturally seeking through film, dialogue, music, dance and language.
“Environmental sustainability was also highlighted through a sustainable culture of herbal weaving in craftsmanship. If we are interested in culpable consumption, it becomes a cultural responsibility,” he said.
Lekhi said that at the G20 summit the cultural component gave India a very serious boost and will continue to do so in other foreign forums, adding the BRICS.
“On many fronts, we see common ground here in the BRICS countries,” he said.
After sharing data on the reports of their respective nations in the face of the demanding situations posed by the pandemic and the problems of Covid-109, the ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of culture.
This agreement will serve as a foundation for long-term collaboration and is expected to provide a framework for joint initiatives, adding cultural exchanges, capacity building and artistic collaborations.
(This story was not edited by the Devdiscourse team and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed. )