New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Sibi George, on Thursday expressed India’s concern over cross-border terrorism and called for concerted and united efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Delivering his keynote address at the 11th Annual BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) Meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, George emphasised the need for robust collaborative approach to tackle the challenges to counter terrorism like evolving terror funding mechanism, radicalisation and use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist while adopting zero tolerance against terrorism.
The seasoned diplomat called for strengthening the existing global counter terrorism architecture through active, comprehensive and sustained global efforts and international cooperation, according to the statement released By MEA on X.
He stressed the need to make BRICS CTWG more resilient, future-ready, innovative, inclusive and outcome-oriented. Sibi George also reaffirmed India’s commitment to further deepen cooperation with BRICS member countries for secure and terror-free world.
India holds the BRICS chair in 2026 guided by the theme of ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, reflecting a people-centric and humanity-first approach articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 2025.
BRIC was formalised at the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in 2006. The inaugural BRIC Summit was convened in Russia’s Yekaterinburg in 2009. It was agreed to expand BRIC into BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in 2010. South Africa attended the third BRICS Summit in 2011.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE became full member of BRICS from January 2024 and Indonesia in January 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam joined BRICS as Partner Countries in 2025.
–IANS
akl/as