Russia to Discuss New Drugs Against Pandemic Outbreaks at BRICS Summit – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country wants to discuss efforts to tackle infectious diseases and pandemic outbreaks at next week’s BRICS summit in China, in an article out Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "We propose discussing at the upcoming summit a package of measures to reduce the threat of infectious diseases and to create new medicines to prevent and fight epidemics," he wrote.

The president said "innovations and cutting edge medicine" were among Russia’s top priorities for cooperation with its four BRICS partners.

"Our countries have a big potential in this respect that comprises a solid and mutually complementary research base, unique technical achievements, skilled personnel and huge markets for science-intensive products," Putin underscored.

The article appeared in major BRICS media ahead of the BRICS summit in the Chinese city of Xiamen on September 3-5. BRICS is a group of the world’s major emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.