AMN / KAZAN RUSSIA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that fighting terrorism and terror financing required united and firm support of all nations and there was no scope for “double standards” in dealing with the serious problem.
Addressing the 16th BRICS Summit at Kazan, Russia Mr. Modi asked BRICS nations to unite and cooperate strongly to deal with terrorism and terror financing. He added that there is no place for double standards on such a serious issue.
At the closed plenary session of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Mr. Modi stressed the need to take active steps to prevent radicalisation among the youth. He called for working together on the pending issue of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN.
The Prime Minister also highlighted that work should be done for global regulations for cyber security and safe and secure AI. He said that there are a lot of expectations from BRICS in view of the new challenges of cyber security, deepfake news, and disinformation in the age of technology. The Prime Minister observed that this BRICS Summit is taking place at a time when the world is in the midst of many challenges, including war, conflict, economic uncertainty, climate change, and terrorism.
There is also talk of the North-South and East-West divides in the world. He said India is in support of dialogue and diplomacy and not war. He further said the BRICS is capable of creating new opportunities for a safe, strong, and prosperous future as it defeated COVID-19 together. The Prime Minister added that containing inflation and ensuring security in the food, energy, health, and water sectors are priority issues for all countries. He said BRICS, as a diverse and inclusive platform, can play a positive role on all issues, and in this context, the approach should remain people-centric. He added that the BRICS should give this message to the world that it is not a divisive but a public interest group.
Prime Minister Modi also said that India is ready to welcome new countries as BRICS partner nations, and all decisions in this regard should be made unanimously. He also emphasised moving forward in a timely manner for reforms in global institutions, including the UN Security Council, Multilateral Development Banks, and WTO.
Later, in his remarks during the Summit, Mr. Modi said BRICS represents 40 percent of the world’s humanity and around 30 percent of the economy, and the grouping has achieved several milestones in the last two decades. He expressed confidence that this organisation will emerge as a more effective medium to face global challenges in the coming times. He added that India is fully committed to increasing cooperation under the BRICS.
He said BRICS has gained a lot of achievements and expressed confidence that the organisation will play a greater role in the future to tackle the global crisis. He said the special emphasis is being laid on infrastructure in all the BRICS countries. He added that India has created the Gatishakti’ portal to rapidly increase multimodal connectivity in the country. He also said it has helped in integrated planning and implementation of these developments and has reduced logistics costs.
Mr. Modi welcomed efforts to increase financial integration among BRICS countries, saying trading in local currency and easy cross-border payments will strengthen economic cooperation. Talking about India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the Prime Minister said it is a big success story of India, which has also been adopted in many countries.
In his address, Mr. Modi said the BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre launched in 2022 is helping in enhancing the health security of all countries. He further said that India will be happy to share its successful experience in digital health with BRICS partners. On the issue of climate change, Mr. Modi said it has been a matter of common priority, and BRICS welcomes the consensus reached for the Open Carbon Market Partnership under the chairmanship of Russia. He added that in India too, special emphasis is being laid on green growth, climate-resilient infrastructure, and green transition. He also talked about initiatives including the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.