New Delhi: Terrorism will be among a gamut of issues that will be discussed at the meeting of five-nation BRICS policy planning dialogue on Tuesday, a senior External Affairs Ministry official said in Patna on Monday.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is hosting a day-long BRICS policy planning dialogue in Patna where representatives of BRICS nations – Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa – would discuss and deliberate on a wide range of global issues and of mutual interest.
“The issue of terrorism is high priority for India… Terrorism is one of the issues that will be discussed in BRICS meeting (tomorrow),” Joint Secretary (Policy, Planning and Dialogue, MEA) Santosh Jha told reporters here.
In reply to a query on whether the issue of terrorism would be discussed in BRICS meeting in view of Pakistan’s recent stand on developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Jha said “Is it possible that India participates in a meeting and it will not discuss the issue of terrorism? It will certainly be discussed.”
The dialogue in Patna is part of the preparation for BRICS summit to be held in Goa in October this year.
While replying to a question on whether the issue of South China Sea would be taken up, Jha said “South China Sea is certainly part of the globe and every issue will be discussed at the meeting. But, the dialogue is not focused on this (South China Sea) issue.”
During the day-long dialogue tomorrow, representatives would discuss as to what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for the member nations, how to benefit from the changes taking place across the world, how to protect India’s interest and what are its priorities.
The meeting would also deliberate upon the prevailing situation in the region, more so in the neighbourhood of respective countries and how to find a convergence on the national priorities of member countries, the Joint Secretary said.