BRICS Leaders Adopt 'New Delhi Declaration'; Call For Peace, Stability In Afghanistan

At the conclusion of the 13th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit on Thursday, the leaders adopted “New Delhi Declaration”, which called for maintaining peace and upholding human rights in Afghanistan. The declaration also condemned the terrorist attacks near the Hamid Karzai Kabul International Airport that resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries last month.

“We follow with concern the latest developments in Afghanistan. We call for refraining from violence and settling the situation by peaceful means. We stress the need to contribute to fostering an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the country,” said the declaration.

The New Delhi Declaration welcomed adoption of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan for the implementation of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

The virtual summit was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who highlighted the situation in Afghanistan and said the country should not become a “threat to its neighbouring countries, a source of drug trafficking and terrorism”.

“We underscore the priority of fighting terrorism, including preventing attempts by terrorist organisations touse Afghan territory as terrorist sanctuary and to carry out attacks against other countries, as well as drug trade within Afghanistan,” the statement said.

The declaration also emphasised the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of women, children and minorities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also spoke at the summit, raised the issue of Afghanistan and said that Afghanistan should not become a threat to its neighbouring countries, a source of terrorism and drug trafficking.

“The citizens of Afghanistan have fought for decades and deserve the right to define what they will look like. I am sure that we can ensure doveleopment and co-existence while maintaining traditons,” Putin said.

Apart from Putin, the summit was also attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro. This was the first summit to be held after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

The declaration also addressed climate issues and welcomed the launch of platforms such as the BRICS Agricultural Research Platform and BRICS alliance for Green Tourism.

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