BRICS SUMMIT 2021: India Raised Concerns about Terrorism, Russia Pointed Afghan Crisis, China Silent

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 10^th Sep. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the 13th edition of the annual BRICS summit via video conferencing, which mainly focused on the occupation of Afghanistan by the Taliban and the current situation in the war-torn country. The summit was attended by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The theme of the summit, as decided by India, was ‘On BRICS 15: Inter-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus’.

BRICS Summit 2021: Declaration in 10 points

• “This is an innovative step to increase health access with the help of technology. In November, our Water Resources Minister will meet for the first time under the BRICS format. This is also the first time that BRICS has taken a collective position on the ‘. ‘Strengthening and reforming multilateral systems’,” PM Modi said. Without naming Taliban or Afghanistan, PM Modi said that BRICS has adopted an anti-terror action plan.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his address that Moscow is interested in peace and stability in Afghanistan and in stopping the exodus of Afghans from the country, which began last month with the Taliban’s swift power grab. Putin said Russia is interested in stopping the flow of migration and wants Afghans to live a peaceful and dignified life in their homeland.
• Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to remain silent on the ongoing Afghanistan crisis, but said that the BRICS countries have become a significant force on the international stage. The Chinese Prime Minister also called for deepening cooperation among member states to forge a closer and more result-oriented partnership to meet common challenges.
• Meanwhile, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro praised the partnership between the Brazilian government, India and China on the actions taken to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Bolsonaro said, “The strategic partnership between Brazil and India is an outstanding moment. Our cooperation has advanced in areas such as science and technology, energy and health, and above all in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday that the collective response of BRICS countries to COVID-19 has demonstrated what can be achieved when partner countries work together. He said, “We must ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. This is the only way we can respond to this pandemic that engulfs the world,” he said.
• In a declaration issued at the end of the summit, BRICS called for abstention from violence and peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan. BRICS said, “We call upon us to refrain from violence and settle the situation by peaceful means. We stress the need to contribute to promoting an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the country.”
• The group also strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks near Kabul airport, which resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries.
• On the issue of the threat of terrorism, BRICS stated that it is committed in combating this menace in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border movement of terrorists.
• The summit also supported the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan to implement the group’s counter-terrorism strategy, which was adopted by the NSAs of the grouping member states.
• The BRICS Declaration largely pointed out that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to conduct terrorist attacks against other countries and strongly called for combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border movement of terrorists.