BRICS Ministers expressed strong condemnation of terrorism "whenever, wherever, and by whom-so-ever"

BRICS must display zero tolerance for terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.

Participating in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations meeting through video conference, he also said that BRICS must follow through on the promises about respecting sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and international law.

EAM Jaishankar highlighted the key points raised at the meet through a series of tweets.

1. We must not only seek socio-economic recovery from the Covid pandemic, but also create resilient and reliable supply chains.

2. Knock-on effects of the Ukraine conflict have led to sharp increases in the costs of energy, food and commodities. This must be mitigated for the sake of the developing world.

3. BRICS has repeatedly affirmed respect for sovereign equality, territorial integrity and international law. We must live up to these commitments.

4. BRICS should unanimously and specifically support UN Security Council reform.

5.Together, we should press for credible commitment of resources by developed nations for climate action and climate justice.

6. BRICS must display zero tolerance for terrorism, especially cross border terrorism.

7. A globalized and digitized world will give due regard to trust and transparency.

8. Sustainable Development Goals must be approached in a comprehensive manner.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi presided over the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting. The meeting was also joined by South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, Brazilian Foreign Minister, Carlos Franca and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Strong condemnation of terrorism

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Ministers expressed strong condemnation of terrorism "whenever, wherever, and by whom-so-ever" and also expressed commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists.

According to the MEA, the Ministers exchanged views on furthering intra-BRICS cooperation on the three pillars of political and security, economic and finance, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. In this regard, they recalled the adoption in 2021 of the revised Terms of Reference for guiding BRICS engagement.

The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to collaborate in order to prevent and control the spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also reiterated that they support the WHO's leadership role in tackling the pandemic, the MEA said.

The ministers addressed the situation in Ukraine and backed Russian-Ukraine negotiations. They raised concern about the conflict's impact on energy and food security, according to the MEA.

They also took part in a BRICS foreign ministers' conference with emerging markets and developing nations.