Afghanistan should not become sanctuary for terror groups-BRICS

BRICS leaders have said that Afghanistan should not become a sanctuary for terror groups to attack other countries. India's BRICS Sherpa and Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs, Sanjay Bhattacharya said, there was a very strong consensus that Afghanistan should not become a reason for problems in the neighbourhood. The BRICS leaders called for peace and stability in Afghanistan. The 13th BRICS  Summit chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted a Counter-Terrorism Action Plan for the implementation of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy. They expressed concern at the continuing conflicts and violence in different parts of the world. Bhattacharya said there was a strong echo of need for reform of not just the UN Security Council, but other institutions of global governance system as well. He said, BRICS nations have reiterated their commitment to enhancing intra-BRICS cooperation under the three pillars - political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
Addressing the Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that BRICS has made many achievements in the last one and a half decades and it is an influential voice for the emerging economies of the world. In his opening remarks,Modi said, the platform has also been useful for focusing on the priorities of developing countries. He said, BRICS has started several strong organizations such as the New Development Bank, Contingency Reserve Arrangement and Energy Research Cooperation Platform. Modi said, it must be ensured that BRICS is more productive in the next 15 years. He said, the theme that India has chosen for its leadership is - 'BRICS at 15 - Intra-BRICS Cooperation for continuity, consolidation and consensus. Modi said, the four Cs will be pillars of the BRICS partnership. The Prime Minister said, recently, the 1st BRICS digital health conference was organized and it was an innovative step to improve health access with help of technology. He said, in November, the Water Resources Ministers of the five members countries will meet for the first time in the BRICS format. Modi said, the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan was adopted recently and the Space Agencies of member countries are also working together in remote sensing satellite constellations. He said, Intra-BRICS trade will get easier with better cooperation between the customs departments of member nations. Thanking all the members, Modi said, India has received full cooperation from all members during its chairship of BRICS. Modi said, BRICS has taken many new initiatives during India’s Chairship. He called for BRICS to contribute to post-COVID global recovery on the motto Build-back Resiliently, Innovatively, Credibly and Sustainably.

The meeting was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro. BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world - representing 41 percent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP and 16 per cent of the global trade.