The country has pitched for an early outcome of the TRIPS waiver proposal for Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

India has also stressed the need to find a permanent, adequate and equitable solution to the public stock holding programme for food security purposes.

Addressing a meeting attended by trade and economic ministers of BRICS countries, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal also stressed on the need to adopt emerging technologies in a swiftly changing world while finding solutions to the challenges of data protection and cyber security and ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Goyal said BRICS countries should work together to strengthen the WTO and aim for a balanced and inclusive outcome in the forthcoming WTO ministerial conference later this year, keeping in mind the needs of developing countries.

In October 2020, India and South Africa had submitted the first proposal, suggesting a waiver for all WTO (World Trade Organisation) members on the implementation of certain provisions of the TRIPs Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of Covid-19.

In May this year, a revised proposal was submitted by 62 co-sponsors, including India, South Africa and Indonesia.

The agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or TRIPs came into effect in January 1995. It is a multilateral

agreement on intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets.

Further, the minister has said that the BRICS countries should work together for strengthening the multilateral system.

The BRICS countries have endorsed the Framework for Cooperation in Trade in Professional Services with the objectives of enhancing domestic capacity and global competitiveness, promoting participation in intra-BRICS mobility of professionals and enhancing trade in professional services.

All BRICS members could for the first time reach a consensus for jointly working towards protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, an official release said.

“In this era of exponential jump in the use of e-commerce and online electronic transactions, the convergence to draw a common action plan among BRICS countries

will help to promote exploring practical options for ensuring consumer protection,” the release added.