Sixth meeting of BRICS High Representatives held at New Delhi

The sixth meeting of BRICS High Representatives responsible for security held at New Delhi. Shri Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser, Government of the Republic of India presided over the meeting.

About BRICS :

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

• Originally the first four were grouped as “BRIC” (or “the BRICs”), before the controversial addition of South Africa in 2010.
• The BRICS members are all leading developing or newly industrialized countries, but they are distinguished by their large, sometimes fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs; all five are G-20 members.
• However, BRICS countries have significantly slowed down with South Africa only growing 1% in 2015 similar to the 1.6% a year from 1994 to 2009,Brazil in its worst recession since the 1930s by some measures, Russia in a recession as oil prices tailspin and sanctions weigh, and China’s slowdown is set to be a drag on global growth and is reported to be the slowest in the last 25 years.
• Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits. Russia hosted the group’s seventh summit in July 2015.
• India is going to host the BRICS conference in Goa in 2016.The term does not include countries such as South Korea, Mexico and Turkey for which other acronyms and group associations were later created.
• As of 2015, the five BRICS countries represent over 3 billion people, or 42% of the world population; all five members are in the top 25 of the world by population, and four are in the top 10.
• The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, equivalent to approximately 20% of the gross world product, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.
• The BRICS have received both praise and criticism from numerous commentators.
• Bilateral relations among BRICS nations have mainly been conducted on the basis of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit. 

BRICS High Representative Meet:

The delegation from Brazil was led by H.E. General Sergio Westphalen Etchegoyen, Minister of State, Head of the Cabinet for Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, Russia by H.E. Mr. Nikolai P. Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, China by H.E. Mr. Yang Jiechi, State Councilor, People’s Republic of China, and South Africa by H.E. Mr. Mbangiseni David Mahlobo, Minister of State Security.

• Acknowledging the positive contribution of the BRICS grouping on important global issues, they deliberated on security issues such as Counter Terrorism, Cyber Security and Energy Security. They also exchanged assessments of recent developments in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region.
• In the area of Cyber Security/Information Security they agreed to strengthen joint efforts on enhancing cyber security by sharing of information and best practices, combating cyber-crimes, improving cooperation between technical and law enforcement agencies including joint cyber security R&D and capacity building.
• The High Representatives encouraged cooperation and exchanging of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on Counter Terrorism issues. In this context, they welcomed the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Counter Terrorism that was held a day before.
• They also agreed to expand BRICS Counter Terrorism cooperation further to include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror-hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition. They underscored the need for a global legal regime to deal with the global menace of terrorism.
• They also agreed to explore regular energy dialogue between BRICS countries in order to discuss long-term and medium-term energy security issues.
• While highlighting the need for resolution of outstanding disputes in the WANA region through dialogue peaceful means and in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN charter, BRICS High Representatives also agreed to pool BRICS’ efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the region.
• The High Representatives concurred on a BRICS Forum to progressively consolidate cooperation and exchanges among respective agencies in security related fields.