Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Friday that the 13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting in Odisha's state capital Bhubaneswar, unanimously adopted the BRICS Education Ministers' Declaration, marking an important milestone in strengthening cooperation among member countries in the education sector.

Speaking to media persons, Joshi added that the meeting brought together Education Ministers, delegates and senior officials from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Iran, The UAE and Ethiopia.

The summit began in Bhubaneswar with the third BRICS Education Senior Officials' Meeting on August 5.

Briefing the media, the Union Minister said the theme of this year's summit, held under India's BRICS chairship for the third time, is "Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability", with a strong focus on youth participation and people-to-people exchanges.

"Delegates exchanged the perspectives and recommendations, strengthened the consciousness on the proposed outcomes and reaffirmed their shared commitment building inclusive, resilient and future ready education system through deeper infrastructure, deeper institutional cooperation, capacity building and knowledge exchange," Joshi added.

He said the declaration focuses on five key priorities, which include strengthening early childhood care and education; skill development, the mutual recognition of qualifications, and enhanced cooperation under the BRICS TVET cooperation alliance; promotion of collaborative research, innovation and start-ups; mutual recognition of qualifications; and capacity building for academic leadership.

Union Minister Joshi said the meeting also provided an opportunity for deeper institutional cooperation, capacity building and knowledge exchange to build inclusive, resilient and future-ready education systems.

He added that he held bilateral meetings with Education Ministers from Iran, Indonesia and South Africa to explore cooperation in higher education, research and innovation.

On the Model BRICS initiative, Joshi said it seeks to familiarise young citizens with the BRICS process and enhance their understanding of diplomacy and multilateral cooperation.

He added that detailed provisions of the declaration would be shared through the Ministry's website.

Joshi also said preliminary work has begun on the outcomes of the BRICS summit and expressed confidence that states across India, including Odisha, would benefit from the initiatives.