India makes pitch to fight terror as BRICS foreign ministers meet in Beijing

India has made a pitch for the BRICS grouping to strengthen ties in combating counter-terrorism, as the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa held their first ever stand-alone summit in Beijing on Monday.

Addressing the opening of the summit, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. (retd) VK Singh, who was attending the meet as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was unable to travel for health reasons, noted the group has launched a joint working group on counter-terrorism which held a meeting last month.

He also said National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will likely travel to Beijing next month for a BRICS NSAs meet that will also discuss terror and security cooperation.

"The BRICS agenda has witnessed steady expansion," Gen. Singh said. "The joint working group on counter terror concluded its meeting in May. Our NSAs are scheduled to meet next month. In their meeting last year, they reached significant understanding to enhance BRICS cooperation in security and counter-terrorism".

"India attaches utmost importance to engagement with BRICS countries," he added. "The Prime Minister has repeatedly underscored the role of BRICS in the international arena and stressed the importance of fostering intra-BRICS cooperation".

INDIA, CHINA LOOK TO BRING STRAINED RELATIONS BACK ON TRACK

India will want the BRICS grouping to put out a strong statement on terrorism as it holds a summit in Xiamen, southern China, in September which PM Modi will attend. China has been one of the stumbling blocks in other fora, such as the UN Security Council, when the question of Pakistan-sourced terrorism is involved.

On Sunday, both countries looked to bring recently strained relations back on track as Gen. Singh held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He said "India looks forward to strengthening and deepening its strategic partnership and mutual dialogue with China."

Wang was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency that "China and India are both major countries with great influence, and that they should boost cooperation in the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and all other multilateral frameworks to make contribution to peace and stability in the region and the world at large."

MAJOR VISIT AFTER BOYCOTT OF BELT AND ROAD SUMMIT

This is the first major visit from India after Delhi became the only major country to boycott President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road summit on May 14.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had been scheduled to attend Monday's first ever standalone BRICS foreign ministers' meeting - previous interactions among the foreign ministers of the grouping had only been held on the sidelines of other summit - but as Gen. Singh told Wang, "She wanted to come but then health and other restrictions on her did not permit her. But she was looking forward to meeting you."

The ministers will on Monday call on Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi's government is going all out to ensure the BRICS summit in September, which Xi will host in Xiamen in Fujian province where he was earlier a provincial leader, will be seen as a success, with the Communist Party of China also hosting a key once-in-five-year leadership congress, likely to be held in Beijing the following month.

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