On February 22-23, Mr. Alexey Idamkin, Consul General of Russia in Kolkata, participated in the Indian Council of World Affairs sponsored national seminar on “BRICS as a Global Alternative - Prospects and Concerns for India”, organized by Netaji Institute for Asian Studies, Adamas University and H.P.Ghosh Research Centre.

The conference included an inaugural session, 3 business sessions, a panel discussion with representatives of BRICS countries and a closing session.

The conference was attended by politicians, political scientists and academia, foreign diplomats and entrepreneurs. Honorable participants included former Ambassador R.Bhatia, former Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs; professor (Dr) S.Ray, honorable Chancellor, Adamas University; former Ambassador P.S. Raghavan, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board, Government of India; professor A.Mattoo, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; professor S.Das, Director, Netaji Institute For Asian Studies and Vice-Chancellor, Adamas University; Mr. C.S.Ghosh, MD, Bandhan Bank.

On February 23, a panel discussion on “Opportunities Created by BRICS Expansion” was held with presentations by Mr. Alexey Idamkin, Consul General of Russia in Kolkata, His Excellency K.F.Haczynski da Nobrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India, and Mr. Qin Yong, Acting Consul General of People’s Republic of China in Kolkata. The conversation was moderated by Mr. K.Srinivasan, former Indian Foreign Secretary. Mr. Idamkin spoke about the priorities of the Russian BRICS Chairmanship in 2024, specifically mentioning the activities aimed at enhancing the role of the BRICS countries in the international monetary and financial system, developing interbank cooperation, facilitating the transformation of the international settlement system and expanding the use of national currencies of the BRICS countries in mutual trade.