People-to-People Exchanges
60. We emphasize the importance of people-to-people exchanges to promoting development and enhancing mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation among BRICS peoples. We agree to deepen cooperation in such fields as culture, education, science and technology, sports and health as well as among media organizations and local governments, to strengthen the third pillar of BRICS cooperation and foster a meaningful resonance of the BRICS partnership amongst its peoples.
61. We value cultural diversity as a precious asset of BRICS cooperation. We stress the role of culture and cultural diversity in promoting sustainable development, and encourage BRICS countries to engage in cultural exchanges and mutual learning to cultivate common values on the basis of diversity and sharing. We welcome the formulation of a BRICS action plan to advance practical cultural cooperation and the establishment of the BRICS Alliance of Libraries, Alliance of Museums, Alliance of Art Museums and National Galleries as well as Alliance of Theaters for Children and Young People. We look forward to the success of the BRICS Culture Festival to be held later in mid-September 2017 in Xiamen. We will continue our work on the establishment of a BRICS Cultural Council to provide the necessary platform to enhance cultural cooperation among BRICS countries.
62. We stress the importance of education to promoting sustainable economic and social development, and to strengthening BRICS partnership, and commend the positive progress in our education cooperation. We reiterate our support for BRICS University League and BRICS Network University in conducting education and research cooperation, welcome efforts to promote cooperation among educational think tanks, and exchanges among youth including by organizing youth summer camps and offering more scholarship opportunities to BRICS students. We agree to share experience and practices in realizing education-related sustainable development goals.
63. We believe in the importance of sports cooperation to popularizing traditional sports and deepening the friendship among BRICS peoples. Recalling the successful hosting of BRICS U-17 Football Tournament in Goa in 2016, we commend the success of the First BRICS Games, which was a highlight of this year's people-to-people exchanges. We encourage relevant departments to sign an MOU on sports cooperation to provide greater impetus to sports cooperation among our five countries.
64. We agree to enhance BRICS role in global health governance, especially in the context of the World Health Organization and UN agencies, and foster the development and improve the availability of innovative medical products through promotion of research and development and access to affordable, quality, effective and safe drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other medical products and technologies as well as to medical services through enhanced health systems and health financing. We agree to improve surveillance capacity and medical services to combat infectious diseases, including Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as non-communicable diseases and encourage greater application of ICTs to improve the level of health service provision. We welcome the outcomes of the BRICS Health Ministers Meeting and High-level Meeting on Traditional Medicine, and commend the establishment of a long-term mechanism for traditional medicine exchanges and cooperation, to promote mutual learning of traditional medicines and pass them down to future generations. We welcome the decision to set up the Tuberculosis Research Network, to be presented at the First WHO Global Ministerial Conference Ending Tuberculosis in the Sustainable Development Era: A Multisectoral Response, Moscow, Russian Federation, 16-17 November 2017. We express support for the meeting as well as the First United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis in 2018. We commit ourselves to enhanced cooperation at international fora on health matters including at G20.
65. We reaffirm our commitment to promote a long-term and balanced demographic development and continue cooperation on population related matters in accordance with the Agenda for BRICS Cooperation on Population Matters for 2015-2020.
66. We note with satisfaction the progress in the exchanges and cooperation in various areas, including governance, film-making, media, think-tank, youth, parliament, local governments and trade union, and agree to further advance such exchanges and cooperation. We commend the first joint film production by BRICS countries and commend the success of the BRICS Film Festival, the Media Forum, Friendship Cities and Local Governments Cooperation Forum, Youth Forum, Young Diplomats Forum and Young Scientists Forum. We appreciate the successful hosting of the BRICS Forum of Political Parties, Think-Tanks and Civil Society Organizations as well as the Seminar on Governance, and will carry these good initiatives forward in the future. In this regard, we note the proposal to establish by China the BRICS Research and Exchange Fund.
67. We appreciate the important progress in BRICS institutional development and reiterate our commitment to further strengthen it to make BRICS cooperation more responsive to the changing situation. We commend China for taking measures during its Chairmanship to enhance the Sherpas' coordination role in BRICS cooperation. We instruct the Sherpas to continue their discussion concerning BRICS institutional development.
68. We recommit our strong support for multilateralism and the central role of the UN in international affairs. We commit to strengthening the coordination and cooperation among BRICS in the areas of mutual and common interests within the UN and other multilateral institutions, including through regular meetings among our permanent representatives in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and further enhance the voice of BRICS in international fora.
69. In continuation of BRICS tradition of outreach since the Durban Summit, we will hold a Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the building of broad partnerships for development under the theme of "Strengthening Mutually-Beneficial Cooperation for Common Development" in promotion of BRICS Plus cooperation.
70. South Africa, Brazil, Russia and India commend China's Chairmanship in 2017 and express sincere gratitude to the Government and people of China for hosting the Ninth BRICS Summit in Xiamen.
71. China, Brazil, Russia and India extend full support for South Africa in hosting the Tenth BRICS Summit in 2018.
