S Jaishankar will participate in the standalone meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the standalone meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil from July 25 to 26.

This would be S Jaishankar's first engagement with the BRICS foreign ministers since assuming office in May.

"BRICS Foreign Ministers' meet twice annually. One meeting is hosted by the BRICS chair as a standalone meeting, usually in the capital and the other meeting is held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Last month BRICS leaders had a successful informal summit on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Thursday.

During the meeting, S Jaishankar is expected to discuss among other issues, the preparation for the 11th BRICS Summit of the leaders slated to be held in Brasilia in November this year.

In 2018, the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had participated in the standalone meeting hosted by South Africa in Pretoria in June, and the customary BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting on the margins of UN General Assembly in September.

"India attaches high importance to its engagement with BRICS and has continued to engage BRICS at the highest levels. We believe that BRICS has emerged as a valuable forum for consultation, coordination and cooperation on contemporary global issues of mutual interest and has helped promote mutual understanding," the MEA statement said.