From terrorism to Aatmanirbhar Bharat to COVID-19 vaccine, what PM Modi said at 12th BRICS Summit
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: Addressing the 12th BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit, held virtually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that there is a need to ensure that countries supporting terrorists are held guilty, a call backed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, who dubbed such nations "black sheep of the family".
Other than terrorism, PM Modi spoke on a range of issues, including the coronavirus pandemic and the need for reform of the UNSC, as well as key global bodies like the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organisation.
Here is what PM Modi said on different issues:
Terrorism
As the five-nation BRICS grouping adopted a new counter-terrorism strategy to effectively deal with the menace, PM Modi said terrorism is the "biggest problem" the world is facing, and needed to be dealt with in an organised manner.
"Terrorism is the biggest problem the world is facing. We have to ensure that the countries that support and assist the terrorists are also held guilty and the problem is dealt with in an organised manner," the prime minister said. Though, PM Modi did not name any country, his reference is seen as directed at Pakistan.
"We are happy that the BRICS counter-terrorism strategy has been finalised during the chairmanship of Russia. This is an important achievement and India will take this forward further during its presidency," he said.
The Prime Minister's remarks pitching for holding the countries supporting terrorism guilty was quickly supported by Putin as he said some countries were like the “black sheep of the family” and the world should not show any complacency in dealing with challenges like terrorism and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a subsequent intervention after his address, Modi also suggested that the National Security Advisers of the member countries can deliberate on framing a counter-terrorism action plan.
COVID-19 Crisis
Talking about the COVID-19 crisis and its impact, Modi said the BRICS economies will play an important role in the post-pandemic global recovery and that India's vaccine production and delivery capabilities will work in the interest of humanity.
"We have more than 42 percent of the world's population, and our countries are among the main engines of the global economy. There is a lot of scope for increasing mutual trade between BRICS countries," the Prime Minister said.
"Our mutual institutions and systems - such as BRICS Inter-Bank Cooperation Mechanism, New Development Bank, Contingent Reserve Arrangement and Customs Cooperation - can also make our contribution effective in global recovery," he said.
PM Modi also mentioned about India supplying essential medicines to more than 150 countries in the last few months. "Our vaccine production and delivery capacity will also serve for the benefit of humanity," PM Modi said.
In his address, the Prime Minister said India and South Africa have proposed that COVID-19 vaccines and treatments be exempted from intellectual property agreements and sought support of the other BRICS countries to it.
Self-reliant India
The Prime Minister also highlighted reform initiatives undertaken by his government under the 'self-reliant India' campaign.
"We have started a comprehensive reform process under the 'Self-reliant India' campaign. The campaign is based on the belief that a self-reliant and resilient India post-COVID can be a force multiplier for the global economy and make a strong contribution to the global value chains," he said.
Reforms in Global Agencies
Underlining the need for reform of the UNSC as well as key global bodies like the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organisation, PM Modi said, "both credibility and effectiveness of institutions of global governance are being questioned. The main reason for this is that these organisations did not change over time and they are still operating based on the 75-year-old thinking."
"India believes reforms are very mandatory in the UN Security Council. We expect the support of our BRICS partners on this subject," he said, and asserted that multilateralism is undergoing a crisis.
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