Distinguished Foreign Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Excellencies,
I begin by thanking Minister Lavrov and his team for the warm hospitality. I also thank Governor Nikitin Gleb for last evening’s Gala dinner with cultural show that demonstrated the beauty of Nizhny Novgorod in its diverse forms. Russia has continued with the practice of inviting developing countries as Friends of BRICS at the stand-alone meeting of BRICS Foreign Ministers. India welcomes all Foreign Ministers who have joined us for this meeting today.
India as a founding member attaches importance to its engagement with BRICS which has emerged as a valuable forum for consultation, and cooperation, promoting mutual understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness, and consensus. The expansion of BRICS has made it even more vibrant, reflecting the current reality of a multi-polar world.
Excellencies,
The issues of Global South are assuming the center stage in the global discourse. Last year during India’s G20 Presidency, we conducted two Voice of the Global South Summits. These voices defined the agendas of India’s G20 Presidency. It was only logical that African Union (AU) became a member of G20 with the support of all G20 member countries. With AU as a permanent member of G20, it makes representation of the Global South stronger and enrich discussions for tackling global issues such as poverty, hunger, health, education, gender, jobs, debt etc. Further, India believes that an expanded BRICS can diligently and effectively work towards realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Excellencies,
The present global situation underlines the deep shortcomings of the current international architecture which does not reflect today’s politics, economics, demographics or indeed aspirations. It is therefore, imperative to collectively demonstrate sincerity in regard to reforming global decision making, in particular that of the UN Security Council.
Excellencies,
Terrorism continues to remain the gravest threat to humanity, in spite of efforts to combating this menace by the international community, including those led by the UN Security Council in the past two decades. It is essential for all nations to take effective measures to prevent the use of their territories for terrorist bases or sponsorship of terrorist acts against other States or their citizens. India wishes to bring the world together in the war against terrorism and transnational crimes.
We believe, BRICS can play a significant role in the common fight against global terrorism including through combating the financing of terrorism, intelligence sharing, cooperating in investigative and judicial processes, capacity building and preventing misuse of modern technologies by terrorists and transnational crime syndicates.
Excellencies,
Climate change is a global collective action issue and developing countries are disproportionately impacted by climate change, despite contributing less to the problem. Financing is urgently required towards achieving Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – for mitigation and adaptation as developing countries look forward to a climate-resilient and sustainable development. New and additional climate finance flows from developed countries as per their historic obligations is crucial for Global South to combat the climate change challenges.
India has pioneered few important global initiatives which are contributing to fighting climate change and is willing to partner with countries in the Global South in their quest for energy transition through the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI); Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS); Leadership Group on Industry Transition (LeadIT), Mission LiFE, Global Biofuel Alliance and Global Green Credit Initiative.
I once again thank Minister Lavrov for organising this important dialogue of BRICS with Developing countries and his leadership in guiding the BRICS process forward.
Thank you!