New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Officials of the BRICS grouping have held extensive discussions spanning four days on possible deliverables during India's tenure as the bloc's chair this year.

The discussions took place at the second BRICS Sherpas' and Sous Sherpas' meeting from May 25 to 28, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

It said the officials discussed the preparations for the meeting of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) foreign ministers on June 1. India is hosting the meeting which will be held in the virtual format.

It is learnt the discussions largely focused on issues relating to security, economy and finance besides ways to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The BRICS is known as an influential bloc that represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world's population. The BRICS countries have a combined GDP of USD 16.6 trillion.

"They negotiated key deliverables for India's BRICS 2021 chairship, including outcome documents for the foreign ministers' meeting," the MEA said in a statement.

"The negotiations took place in a constructive and cordial atmosphere and BRICS partners appreciated the positive leadership of the Indian Chair in advancing intra-BRICS cooperation, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic," it said.

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