BRICS asks global community to cooperate to tackle terrorism

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have called on the global community to cooperate in efforts to address the threat posed by foreign terrorists, including by preventing their recruitment, movement across borders and cutting their financial support.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting alongwith her counterparts from other nations in bloc on September 25 on margins of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly here.
The Ministers supported the UN Security Council resolution adopted unanimously under a session chaired by US President Barack Obama on September 24 that requires countries to have laws that prosecute nationals travelling for terrorism purposes.

The group discussed at length other regional and global issues concerning the international community, including the Israeli and Palestinian ceasefire, the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Afghan political transition, the crisis in Ukraine as well as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The bloc reaffirmed its the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including the Security Council with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, enabling it to adequately respond to global challenges.
The Ministers reiterated the need to promptly convene a meeting to advance intra-BRICS economic, trade and investment cooperation, as stated in the Fortaleza Declaration of July 2014.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they said the two sides should do their utmost to preserve the ceasefire regime and to reach a steady truce in the Gaza Strip as well as to prevent further recurrences of the use of force.

Voicing concern over the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, the BRICS member states supported Egypt and Norway's plans to hold an international donor conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in Cairo this October.
They underlined that the implementation of such initiatives should be backed by prompt steps towards lifting the blockade on Gaza and promoting Palestinian reconciliation in order to restore administrative unity to the Palestinian territories.

On the conflict areas in Africa, the group said that the main role in tackling African conflicts should be played by Africans themselves with active support from the UN and the international community, through the African Union and its Peace and Security Council.
On the outbreak of the Ebola virus, BRICS stressed the need to contain the spread of the disease and called for an urgent and comprehensive support of all relevant UN system entities to assist the affected countries in responding effectively to the crisis.
The Russian side briefed its partners on the preparations for the VII BRICS Summit in 2015 in the city of Ufa.

Russia stressed its willingness to ensure the continuity of strategic focus of the association, while enriching it with new areas and formats of cooperation.