BRICS An Important Force On International Stage
Leaders of the five BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – met virtually on Thursday for talks chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the second time PM Modi is chairing the BRICS summit.. Earlier he had chaired the Goa summit in 2016. The Indian Chairship of BRICS this year coincides with the 15th anniversary of five-nation group.
PM Modi emphasized on the counter terrorism action plan that has been adopted by the BRICS. He also said “we have to ensure that BRICS is more productive in next 15 years. We have made many achievements in the last one-and-a-half decade. Today we are an influential voice for the emerging economies of the world. This platform has also been useful for focusing on the priorities of developing countries.
Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighboring countries, a source of drug trafficking and terrorism, added Modi in his address to the virtual summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the summit via video link that the withdrawal of the US and its allies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis, and it is “still unclear how it will affect regional and global security. Global security has faced serious challenges and the system of strategic stability has gone down. Our countries have paid special attention to this issue [Afghanistan]. Russia, India and its other BRICS partners have consistently spoken for establishing long-awaited peace and stability on Afghan soil,” Putin noted.
The BRICS countries have become an important world power to be reckoned with, and facts have already proven that no matter what difficulties emerge, as long as BRICS remain united and make joint efforts, cooperation will be smooth, solid and sustained said Xi Shinping, the President of China.
The summit is being held amid the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and countries around the world are also making efforts to bring about economic reconstruction. Meanwhile, the situation in Afghanistan poses specific security concerns to the rest of the World.
The major powers in BRICS share similar points on the hot spot issue of Afghanistan, but due to their different national interests and standards on counter-terrorism, it will be hard to see effective and deep cooperation on the matter. What BRICS countries can do is boost economic recovery and build mutual trust in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, which are the priorities shared by the five major economies, and put their differences over other issues aside.
China having different standards on terrorism ( It calls His Holiness Dalai Lana a terrorist but is treating the Terrorist Ministers of Afghan Government as Saints ) has already provided provide monetary aid to Afghanistan including food, medicines and 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, just one day after the Taliban announced the establishment of its interim government. Chinese think that Taliban soon take full control of the country and restore stability. Therefore after receiving China’s humanitarian aid, the organization will owe China a big favor, and in the next step, the Taliban will make efforts to respond to China’s demand to strike the ETIM, the freedom fighting organization in Xinjiang.
Qiu Wenping, an expert on Afghanistan at Fudan University, said Afghanistan is a significant country in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, so providing emergency aid to the country when it faces serious sanctions from the West and desperately needs external help will win appreciation from not only the Taliban but also the people of Afghanistan. “It’s just like offering coal in snowy weather.”
After the summit, the five countries have made the BRICS New Delhi Declaration. In the part related to Afghanistan, the declaration said, “We call for refraining from violence and settling the situation by peaceful means. We stress the need to contribute to fostering an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the country.”
“We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks near the Hamid Karzai Kabul International Airport that resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries. We underscore the priority of fighting terrorism, including preventing attempts by terrorist organizations to use Afghan territory as terrorist sanctuary and to carry out attacks against other countries, as well as drug trade within Afghanistan. We emphasize the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of women, children and minorities,” reads the New Delhi Declaration.
