China: BRICS Countries Cooperate on Terrorism
The BRICS group of five major emerging economies called in September 2017 for tougher measures against terrorist groups, while denouncing North Korea’s latest nuclear test at a summit in China that seeks to enlarge the organization’s presence on the world stage.
The BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — agreed in a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation against a range of organizations it described as terrorist, including some based in Pakistan, in a diplomatic victory for New Delhi.
In the 43-page declaration, Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured center, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pictured right, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, Brazilian President Michel Temer and South African President Jacob Zuma said they would work together to improve global economic governance to foster “a more just and equitable international order.”
They also strongly condemned North Korea’s sixth — and most powerful — nuclear test that took place in September 2017 and overshadowed the two-day BRICS summit in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen. Preeti Saran, an official with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said each leader had referred to North Korea’s nuclear test when speaking at the meeting. The declaration said the five emphasized that the issue should only be settled through “peaceful means and direct dialogue of all the parties concerned.”
Some observers, however, suggest the group’s influence is waning, given the ongoing political and economic rivalry between China and India and the economic woes faced by Brazil, Russia and South Africa. In addressing terrorism, the declaration named organizations including the Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Saran said it was the first time there had been a specific listing of alleged terrorist groups in a BRICS document, calling that “a very important development.”
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
