The BRICS group of five major emerging economies yesterday called for reform of the UN and 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 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.
The five also pledged their opposition to protectionism, a theme increasingly taken up by host Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as anti-globalization sentiment in the West poses a threat to China’s vast export markets.
Photo: AFP
In the 43-page declaration, Xi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, 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 on Sunday and has overshowed the two-day BRICS summit in Xiamen that China is using as a showcase for its growing international status.
Preeti Saran, an official with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said each leader had referred to North Korea’s nuclear test when they spoke during their 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.”
They called for “comprehensive reform” of the UN and the UN Security Council “with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges,” but no proposals on specific reforms were offered.
Xi announced in his opening address yesterday that China would set aside 500 million yuan (US$76.7 million) for economic and technological cooperation and exchanges among BRICS countries, and US$4 million to support the BRICS’ New Development Bank.
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