BRICS foreign ministers call for stronger partnership

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SME Times News Bureau | 27 Sep, 2014
The foreign ministers of BRICS countries have called for strengthening cooperation and promoting closer economic partnership at a meeting on the margins of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

The ministers, who met Thursday, stressed on the need to promptly convene a meeting to advance intra-BRICS economic, trade and investment cooperation, as stated in the Fortaleza Declaration adopted in Brazil at the sixth BRICS summit, the Permanent Mission of India to UN said in a press release Friday.

The minister congratulated Brazil for organising the summit and noted that the Fortaleza Action Plan was being successfully implemented. They said the decisions to establish a new development bank and the contingent reserve arrangement taken at the summit raised cooperation among BRICS countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to a new level.

On the current UN agenda, the ministers expressed their support for initiating and organising commemorative events in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the organisation and of the end of the Second World War.

A comprehensive reform of the UN, including the Security Council, was also stressed to make it more representative, effective and efficient.

They called upon the Israeli and Palestinian sides to do their utmost to preserve the ceasefire regime and to reach a steady truce in the Gaza Strip.

The BRICS member states expressed their support for the immediate resumption of negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians based on international law and relevant UN resolutions with the final aim of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

They supported Egypt and Norway’s plans to hold an international donor conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in Cairo this October.

The ministers welcomed the agreement reached between the two Afghan leaders and committed to support the new government of Afghanistan in pursuing the task of building a strong, developed and peaceful nation.

The BRICS member states expressed grave concern about the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West African countries. The Ministers stressed the need to contain the spread of the disease. They called for an urgent and comprehensive support of all relevant UN system entities, including WHO, to assist the affected countries in responding effectively to the crisis.

Each of BRICS countries has contributed to the international effort against the disease.

The ministers also underscored the importance of ensuring peace and stability in Ukraine. They supported the UN Security Council resolution on foreign terrorist fighters and called on the international community to cooperate in efforts to address the threat posed by them.