Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], August 6 (ANI): Senior education officials and delegates from BRICS member countries on Thursday met in Bhubaneswar and held detailed deliberations on the proposed BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration.

The meeting was part of several wide-ranging events that India is hosting during its prestigious BRICS Chairship 2026. The Ministry of Education has convened the 3rd BRICS Education Senior Officials' Meeting in Bhubaneswar, bringing together senior officials and delegates from BRICS member countries.

According to the Ministry of Education, the meeting held detailed deliberations on the proposed BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration, including the BRICS Guiding Principles on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems, alongside cooperation in Early Childhood Care and Education, TVET and skills, collaborative research and innovation, mutual recognition of qualifications, and academic leadership.

The Ministry of Education further noted that delegations exchanged perspectives and recommendations, strengthened consensus on the proposed outcomes, and reaffirmed their shared commitment to building inclusive, resilient and future-ready education systems through deeper institutional cooperation, capacity building and knowledge exchange.

https://x.com/EduMinOfIndia/status/2085286018471833766?s=20

India's BRICS Chairship in 2026 is its fourth, having previously held the position in 2012, 2016 and 2021. The Chairship is guided by the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', reflecting a people-centric and humanity-first approach articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2025 Rio Summit.

BRICS currently brings together eleven major emerging economies: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

The grouping serves as a platform for consultation and cooperation on issues of global and regional significance, as well as on global political and economic governance.

The BRICS 2026 website highlights how the grouping's agenda has expanded significantly from its original focus on economic issues to three core pillars -- political and security cooperation, economic and financial cooperation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

It further notes that BRICS cooperation now covers a wide range of issues, including counter-terrorism, climate change, food and energy security, international financial architecture, telecommunications, agriculture, labour and employment, trade, and WTO-related matters. (ANI)