BRICS must live up to commitments to sovereign equality and territorial integrity: Jaishankar

Jaishankar also said that the grouping must display 'zero tolerance for terrorism, especially cross-border terrorism'

India on Thursday joined China, Russia and the other BRICS nations to express concern over the impact of the conflict over Ukraine on global energy and food security.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in a virtual meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Foreign Ministers. The meeting was hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also attended the meeting, as did Brazil’s Carlos Alberto Franco França and Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor of South Africa.

“(The) BRICS has repeatedly affirmed respect for sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and international law. We must live up to these commitments,” Jaishankar said, tacitly sending out a message to Wang, with the Indian Army soldiers engaged in a stand-off with Chinese People’s Liberation Army personnel along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary between the two nations – in eastern Ladakh.

The stand-off started when the Chinese PLA mobilized a large number of troops along the LAC in a bid to push the line westward into the territory of India and the Indian Army responded to the attempt with counter deployment.

“We must not only seek socioeconomic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic but also create resilient and reliable supply chains,” Jaishanlar told his counterparts from other BRICS nations, adding: “Knock-on effects of the Ukraine conflict have led to sharp increases in the costs of energy, food and commodities. This must be mitigated for the sake of the developing world.”

“The ministers discussed the situation in Ukraine and supported talks between Russia and Ukraine. They expressed concern about the energy and food security implications of the conflict,” according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.

They exchanged views on furthering intra-BRICS cooperation on the three pillars of political and security, economic and finance, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

They reiterated that the BRICS countries shall continue to work together to contain the spread and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and supported the leading role of the WHO in combating the pandemic; the importance of the ongoing discussions in the WTO including on the TRIPS waiver proposal; and called for the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.