Noting that the BRICS Summit is taking place at a time when the world is surrounded by many challenges like wars, conflicts, economic uncertainty, and climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that, as a “diverse and inclusive platform,” the group can play a positive role in addressing all these issues.
Addressing the Closed Plenary Session of the 16th BRICS Summit, PM Modi emphasized that the approach of the group should remain people-centric.
“Our meeting is taking place at a time when the world is faced with numerous challenges such as wars, conflicts, economic uncertainty, climate change, and terrorism. There is talk of a North-South and East-West divide in the world. In the age of technology, new challenges like cybersecurity, deepfakes, and disinformation have also emerged. In this situation, there are many expectations from BRICS. I believe that, as a diverse and inclusive platform, BRICS can play a positive role on all issues. In this context, our approach should remain people-centric. We should send the message to the world that BRICS is not a divisive group but one that works in the public interest,” he said.
“We support dialogue and diplomacy, not war. Just as we jointly overcame a challenge like COVID-19, we are equally capable of creating new opportunities for a safe, strong, and prosperous future for the next generation. Similarly, we should work towards global regulations for cybersecurity and safe, secure artificial intelligence,” he added.
The Prime Minister also called for strong cooperation among BRICS countries to combat terrorism.
“We all need to unite and work closely to deal with terrorism and terror financing. There is no place for double standards on such a serious issue. We must take active steps to prevent radicalization among the youth in our countries. We need to work together on the pending issue of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN,” he said.
“India is ready to welcome new countries as BRICS Partner Country. All decisions in this regard should be made unanimously and the views of the founding members of BRICS should be respected. The guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures that we adopted at the Johannesburg Summit should be followed by all member and partner countries,” he said.
The Prime Minister pitched for reforms of global institutions like UN Security Council.
“We should move forward in a timely manner with reforms of global institutions such as the UN Security Council, Multilateral Development Banks, and the WTO. As we advance BRICS’ efforts, we must keep in mind that the image of this organization should not be that of a group looking to replace global institutions but rather to reform them,” he added.
The 16th BRICS Summit is currently taking place in Kazan.
(ANI)