Russia, India and China, a grouping known by the acronym RIC, today agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The meeting between the three countries was aimed at providing stability to the region.
The three countries also agreed to give an impetus to the trilateral relations in areas like health, agriculture, disaster mitigation, climate change and mitigating the impact of the global slowdown.
India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jei Chi held an meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday to chart the path forward.
The ministers said they had agreed on the need for trilateral dialogue in areas like global economic governance architecture, climate change, trade policy and development cooperation which would contribute to global peace and prosperity.
They reviewed the progress made during the eight rounds of the trilateral dialogues. The three leaders discussed the situation in the region, paying attention to the terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
After the meeting, the leaders told reporters that the discussions were “productive”. They claimed that they had identified new areas of cooperation.
“The cooperation between the three countries in their fight against terrorism and transnational crimes will provide stability to the region,” a joint statement noted.
The foreign ministers condemned the terrorist strike on the Indian Embassy in Kabul during October. They stressed that all concerned must implement the relevant resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council and international convention and protocols against terrorism and contribute to implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
The ministers also urged all UN member states to urgently conclude and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
They stressed the need to strictly observe the sanction regime against persons and entities listed at the UN Security Council under resolution 1267.
The Pakistan-based Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) is among the extremist groups condemned by the world body for its involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
The ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated “there can be no justification for any act of terrorism anywhere.”
Lavrov said the three nations needed to be united in confronting terrorism and drug trafficking.
He said the three were interested in joint efforts for bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The ministers agreed that there was a natural complementarity between the three countries in the energy sector. While Russia is a dominant oil and gas supplier, India and China are energy deficit, but are significant suppliers of manufactured products and services.
“Trilateral relations can be reinforced by establishing mutually advantageous relations in the energy sector. Energy matters are best addressed in a framework that reconciles the long-term interests of both energy-producing and energy-consuming nations,” they said in a joint communique issued after the meeting.
