New Delhi, Sep 11 — A day after senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram's remark regarding the BRICS Summit sparked a controversy, party leader and former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday came to his defence, saying that what the former Finance Minister meant was that the Summit should produce "some concrete outcome".
Chidambaram, in a recent interview, had questioned the tangible economic and strategic benefits India had derived from its participation in BRICS and said he had not seen any significant outcomes emerging from the recent meetings of the bloc.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Khurshid described the former Finance Minister as "very learned and deeply experienced".
"He (Chidambaram) has a way of saying things. He understands very well the decisions and discussions that take place at the international level. What he is saying is that something concrete ought to come out of it. That is what he is pointing out," he clarified while questioning who could have any disagreement with this idea.
"Even when I am asked what is significant about this BRICS Summit, I also say the same thing: that some concrete work should get done," he stressed.
He said that the "concrete work" could include climate change or sustainability and supply chains.
"It could be about bringing an end to the wars taking place across the world, or putting in place mechanisms to ensure conflicts do not happen in the future," he opined.
The former EAM added: "If Mr Chidambaram has signalled that enough talk has happened and now concrete actions need to be demonstrated, then that should be welcomed."
Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor defended the relevance of the BRICS summit, saying the grouping provides an important platform for the Global South and demonstrates India's diplomatic convening power.
Speaking ahead of the BRICS summit, Tharoor noted the grouping of 11 countries represented a significant share of the world's population and global economy, NDTV reported.
The Congress MP also said hosting the summit was a matter of prestige for India, with the participation of heads of state and government from member countries and observers demonstrating the country's ability to bring major global players together.
"It shows a certain diplomatic convening power which has value in and of itself on the global stage," he said.