Jaishankar asks Brics meet to fight terror

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Describing terrorism as a key threat to international peace and security, India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar on Thursday called upon all nations to take resolute measures against it, including its financing and propaganda.

“It must be combated in all its forms and manifestations and never be condoned under any circumstances,” the minister said while speaking at the Brics foreign ministers’ meet in Cape Town.

Along with Jaishankar, his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Chinese vice minister for foreign affairs Ma Zhaoxu also participated in the meeting that took place in the run-up to the Brics summit that South Africa is expected to host in August.

A Bloomberg report said South Africa was considering shifting the venue to China or Mozambique because of the war crimes arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Jaishankar said the global environment today demanded that the Brics nations approached key contemporary issues seriously, constructively and collectively.

“Our gathering must send out a strong message that the world is multipolar, that it is rebalancing, and that old ways cannot address new situations. We are a symbol of change and must act accordingly,” he said in his opening remarks, as he urged the member-states to demonstrate sincerity in efforts to reform global decision-making, including that of the United Nations Security Council.

“This responsibility is even greater as we contemplate the devastating after-effects of the Covid pandemic, the stresses arising from conflict, and the economic distress of the Global South. They underline the deep shortcomings of the current international architecture which does not reflect today’s politics, economics, demographics or indeed aspirations. For two decades, we have heard calls for reform of multilateral institutions, only to be continuously disappointed,” Jaishankar said. (The Times of India)