XIAMEN: The BRICS summit on Monday pledged opposition to protectionism, denounced North Korea’s latest nuclear test, tougher measures against terrorist groups and the UN reforms.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed in a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation against a range of terrorist organisations, including some allegedly based in Pakistan.
The group called for an immediate end to violence in Afghanistan. “We, in this regard, express concern over the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, (Islamic State)..., Al-Qaeda and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, TTP and Hizb-ut-Tehrir,” the declaration read.
The summit was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Brazil’s Michel Temer, South Africa’s Jacob Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The declaration said nations should unite to fight terrorist groups in accordance with the principles of international law, but emphasised the importance of not interfering in the sovereign affairs of individual states.
“We deplore all terrorist attacks worldwide, including attacks in BRICS countries, and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever and stress that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. We reaffirm that those responsible for committing, organizing, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable,” said the declaration.
In the 43-page declaration, the BRICS leaders also said that they would work together to improve global economic governance to foster a more just and equitable international order.They strongly condemned North Korea’s latest nuclear test and said the issue should only be settled through peaceful means and direct dialogue of all the parties concerned.
They called for comprehensive reform of the UN and the Security Council to make it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges.
Talking about listing of the terrorist outfits, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, according to India media, said the BRICS countries had “shown their concerns over the violent activities raised by these organisations”.
Meanwhile, North Korea stole the spotlight on Sunday by announcing it had detonated a powerful hydrogen bomb and claiming it could fit the device on a long-range missile, dramatically raising the stakes in its standoff with the world.
BRICS was already struggling to live down doubts about its own cohesion that have spiked since nuclear-armed China and India engaged in a protracted standoff over a disputed Himalayan region.
In his speech on Sunday, Xi stressed the need for BRICS members to show mutual respect and “avoid conflicts” but otherwise did not mention the border dispute.
BRICS nations, who comprise more than 40 percent of humanity, came together a decade ago to advocate for the developing world’s interests.But policy analysts have increasingly questioned the group’s relevance, pointing out that its members have little in common and face various economic challenges.
Xi alluded to these questions in his speech. “Some people, seeing that emerging markets and developing countries have experienced growth setbacks, assert that BRICS countries are losing their lustre,” he said, admitting the group’s members faced various “headwinds”.
