The Annual Meeting of the BRICS Women Business Alliance was held online on the 2nd of September 2021 on the eve of the BRICS Summit. During the meeting, members summed up the results of the one-year work of the Alliance, which were presented in the form of the Annual Report.
The members of WBA gave their recommendations on several issues, concerning women: healthcare, inclusive economy, innovative development, food security, environmental safety, development of the creative industries and tourism. These recommendations elaborated by the corresponding five working groups of WBA will be reported to the leaders of BRICS countries at the upcoming Summit.
This year the Indian Presidency in BRICS has already brought tangible results. Many projects have been realised under Indian supervision and many initiatives proposed this year by national Chapters are waiting for their turns.
In the opening remarks, Sangita Reddy, Chairperson of the Indian Chapter, highlighted some of the initiatives touched upon in the Annual Report, such as the idea of creating an effective financial tool for supporting low-cost women-led businesses, the suggestion from the Russian side to develop a single WBA platform aimed at empowering women-led enterprises. Dr. Reddy mentioned the already realised Chinese initiative BRICS Women Innovation Contest 2021 and the ongoing BRICS Energy Security Initiative proposed by South Africa as well.
All members of the Alliance National Chapters adopted the Annual Report, as well as provided the results of the year and shared their thoughts on the most important recommendations and initiatives.
Anna Nesterova, Chairperson of the Russian Chapter, emphasized the need to discuss possible options for expanding partnerships with non-BRICS states within BRICS+ or BRICS outreach and cooperation. Elena Chashchina and Galina Volkova, Members of the Russian Chapter, spoke on the topic of creative industries and tourism. Ms. Volkova focused on the related sectors of the inclusive economy and creative industries, whilst the issue of the touristic brand of the BRICS countries was the central idea in Ms.Chashchina’s speech.