RIC meeting pledges more cooperation in energy sector

The foreign ministers — S M Krishna of India, Yang Jie Chi of China and Sergei Lavrov of Russia — after a two-hour meet agreed to intensify international cooperation in the energy sector on a “new basis” to promote openness, transparency and competition in the energy market.

Russia is a dominant supplier of oil and gas, while India and China are energy deficient but significant suppliers of manufactured products and services. In a joint communique, the ministers agreed on mutual cooperation that reconciles the long-term interests of energy producing and energy consuming nations. They also agreed on concerted trilateral action against terrorism, transnational crime and drug trafficking.

The RIC would continue dialogue and cooperation in areas such as global economic governance architecture, climate change, trade policy and development cooperation, it was decided. Interestingly, Bangalore was playing host for a multilateral summit after a gap of more than two decades, since the SAARC summit in 1986.

The ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that there could be no justification for any act of terrorism anywhere. They maintained that the fight against terrorism needed strong international cooperation, particularly within the framework of the United Nations (UN). The meeting reiterated the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN so that it could deal with current global challenges more effectively. As regards strengthening international cooperation against terrorism, the ministers urged all UN member states to urgently adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

The ministers stressed the need for sustained international efforts to effectively combat the production and trafficking in of narcotics in the region. They called for close cooperation between the International Security Assistance Force, the coalition forces and the government of Afghanistan.