BRICS Youth Ministers Approve Joint Statement in Visakhapatnam

India hosted the BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting in Visakhapatnam on August 22, 2026, the first day of a two-day Youth and Sports ministerial under India's 2026 BRICS Chairship. Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State Raksha Nikhil Khadse led the Indian delegation as ministers and heads of delegation from all 11 BRICS member states — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE — adopted a joint statement covering education and skills, youth entrepreneurship, science and technology, social and cultural participation, volunteering, poverty and inequality, health and sports, environment and sustainability, interfaith dialogue, youth exchange, and youth inclusion. Delegates also joined the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' tree-plantation drive and visited the Thotlakonda Buddhist monastery.