Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Emphasizing the need to prevent the youth from radicalization, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday flagged the war on terrorism, reiterating India’s support for dialogue and diplomacy, not war, to sort out issues.
“To counter terrorism and terror financing, we need the single-minded and firm support of all… there is no place for double standards on this serious matter,” he asserted at the ongoing 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.
“We need to take active steps to stop radicalization of youth in our countries.”
“India supports dialogue and diplomacy… not war,” PM Modi said addressing a closed-door plenary session of the three-day event.
“Our meeting is taking place when the world is facing several pressing challenges. It is also talking about the North-South and East-West divides. At this time, preventing inflation… ensuring food, energy, health, and water security… are matters of priority. And, in this era of technology, new challenges have emerged, like misinformation (spread online) and cyber frauds like deepfakes…”
“At such a time, there are high expectations of the BRICS grouping and I believe that we, as a diverse and inclusive platform, can play a positive role in all these areas,” the PM said, according to the media reports.
“In this regard, our approach must remain people-centric. We have to tell the world that BRICS is not divisive and that we support dialogue and diplomacy, and not war …” he asserted.
Citing an example, PM Modi recalled the COVID-19 pandemic and how the member countries of the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the founding members) worked together. He said, “Just as we were able to overcome COVID-19, we can create and ensure a secure, strong, and prosperous future…”
On the induction of new members into the BRICS bloc—Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates— he said, “India is ready to welcome new nations as ‘partner countries’.”
“In this regard, all decisions should be taken by consensus,” he said, adding, however, that “the views of BRICS founding members should be respected.”
He also expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for hosting the BRICS Summit in Kazan and for his leadership of the bloc over the past 12 months.
PM Modi had on Tuesday told President Putin, whose country is at war with Ukraine, that “all conflict can be solved with dialogue.” On Wednesday also, he told the bloc of the multiple challenges facing its members and the world at large and called for action on those fronts instead.
Earlier, he called for global unity to sort out issues and emphasized the need for cooperation on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations.