Panjim: On day 2 of the eighth BRICS summit that comprises five major emerging national economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a bilateral meeting with his Bhutanese counterpart Tshering Tobgay ahead of the BRICS-Bimstec Outreach Summit during which the two leaders discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations.
"Always a delight meeting you PM @tsheringtobgay. Glad to have discussed the full spectrum of India-Bhutan ties during our talks," Modi stated in a tweet.
Earlier on Sunday, Modi also met Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
India being the host of this year's BRICS Summit chose to invite countries belonging to the Bimstec grouping over those of Saarc, following the cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army camp at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir in September that claimed the lives of 19 Indian soldiers.
The invitation to Bimstec countries instead of the Saarc countries is being seen as another step towards cornering Pakistan which also happens to be one of the main agendas of India for the eighth BRICS Summit.
Following the Uri attack, Prime Minister Modi also pulled out of this year's Saarc Summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November citing Pakistan's state sponsorship of terrorism as the reason. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan too followed suit citing the same reason while Sri Lanka held that a Saarc summit was not possible in India's absence.
On Day 1 of the Summit , India and Russia signed major defence deals and reiterated that there should be zero tolerance for “direct and indirect support of terrorism" and that the UN global strategy on counter-terrorism should be applied without any double standards.
The joint statement, signed by the two countries after two hours of talks, had a strongly worded paragraph on terrorism with the stressed on the need to deny safe havens to terrorists, and the importance of counter-terror ideology.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on Saturday and agreed that terror was a scourge for the region but China steered clear of any commitment on action against Pakistan or terrorist Masood Azhar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also told President Xi Jinping that India and China could not afford to have differences on the scourge of terrorism and must look for common ground at the UN 1267 sanctions committee
However, an unmoved Xi didn’t change the Chinese position on Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, despite agreeing that terrorism is a “key issue".
Amid the ongoing BRICS summit in Goa and bilateral talks between various member countries of the grouping Brazil president Michel Temer said on the first day that the trade between Brazil and India can triple in a few years.
"With agreements, trade between Brazil and India can triple in a few years," Temer tweeted after arriving in Goa.
"My idea is to increase Brazil's relationship with India," he said on Twitter, noting that at present few renowned Brazilian companies have presence in India.
India is all set to further rally the international community against Pakistan after a series of deadly cross-border attacks. Among the major agendas of the eighth BRICS Summit which was set up in 2011 to make emerging economies a global force, is to advance common agenda for peace and stability.
Comments
0 comment