The meeting of BRICS-BIMSTEC leaders in Goa next week will give India another opportunity to seek support from the global community to join hands against countries like Pakistan which are providing safe havens to the terror groups even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Valdimir Putin.
Having an agreement to put a strict check on cutting off financial and weapons' supplies to the terrorists will be also on the agenda. Post-Uri terror attack, India has been going all out in its diplomatic bid to isolate Pakistan internationally.
India will seek more commitment against nations like Pakistan, though without directly naming it, from the BRICS-BIMSTEC countries during the Summit on October 15-16 in Goa. On the sidelines of the summit, India will separately raise the technical hold put by China on the listing of Jaish-e-Mohmmad chief Masood Azhar as a UN proscribed terrorist.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a grouping involving countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are — Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
During a meeting last month, the BRICS National Security Advisors formalised a forum on security having three sub-groups to cover counter-terrorism, cyber security and energy security dialogues. The NSAs also discussed how to deal with countries providing safe havens to terrorists, cut their finances besides their weapon supplies.
A statement in this regard is expected from the BRICS and BIMSTEC nations at the Summit even as India struggles with its case in the United Nations' 1267 Al Qaeeda Sanctioning Committee on listing of Azhar. India will certainly take it up during Modi's bilateral talks with Jinping on the sidelines.
Prior to the summit, Modi will also have discussions with Putin at the India-Russia Annual Summit and review the entire gamut of bilateral relationship between the two countries. The meeting this year will be held in the backdrop of Russia conducting its first military exercise with Pakistan at a time when India carried out surgical strikes against terror launch pads along the line of Control.
"Agenda is drawn in a broad-brush manner. We will be looking at global economic and political situation. Obviously terrorism is very important part of that," said Amar Sinha, Secretary Economic Relations in Ministry of External Affairs. His colleague Preeti Saran, Secretary East, added the entire region of BIMSTEC too is a victim of terrorism and there is a growing feeling this menace cannot be tackled individually but has to be dealt collectively.
"Terrorism is a global problem. It cannot be tackled individually and has to be tackled collectively. We cannot have a differential policy towards terrorism. There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist so these are the issues on which there will be reiteration of national positions," Sinha said.
Apart from terrorism, climate change, financing for development, increasing people to people ties are among the agenda. Sinha said after the BRICS Bank, the forum is now going to focus on setting up BRICS agriculture research, railway research network, and a sports council. Besides, a BRICS documentation centre will be set up in Delhi having a record of all records pertaining to the forum.
Sinha said, three MoUs including those on cooperation in the area of environment and customs have been agreed upon by the BRICS countries. The pact pertaining to customs will help in breaking the trade barriers between these countries, he added.
India has held 115 events related to BRICS over the last few months including two parliamentary, 15 ministerial level and 56 official levels meetings.