Security agenda adds dimension to BRICS

By Rajeev Sharma Source:Global Times Published: 2013-1-13 22:48:01

One may wonder what the "B" and "S" in BRICS have to do with terrorism, as Brazil and South Africa are two of the few nations not cursed by the problem. And yet National Security Advisors (NSAs) of BRICS held their own first ever stand-alone summit in New Delhi earlier this month.

The obvious question is: What were the takeaways for Brazil and South Africa in this event?

It is a well-known fact that RIC of the BRICS have been jostling with the menace of terrorism for quite some time in their own ways, keeping these nations' leaderships on the edge.

Things are rather different for Brazil and South Africa, yet the Brazilian and South African NSAs were all ears at the New Delhi meeting. The two have their own compelling reasons for this. Brazil is to host the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016, and is well aware that such international events are the favorite targets of terrorists.

 The South Africans are bothered about the problem in their own way. Terrorism is virtually knocking on their doors. Mali, a country in West Africa, has of late emerged as a major address of international terrorism. Justifiably, the South Africans are worried about international terrorism which they haven't been directly affected by so far.

The meeting in New Delhi was actually a pointer to the growing BRICS synergy over such core areas as security.

The meeting was trail-blazing as it signified that a grouping like BRICS, which is not a security-focused grouping like the SCO or NATO, is increasingly getting mindful of such issues.

Over the years, BRICS has grown both in significance and in the nature of its dialogue and its work. It started by primarily looking at economic issues, but has grown considerably.

It was only a matter of time, considering the similar interests that BRICS countries have as emerging economies, that national security issues should also come on to the agenda.

There can be few international organizations that can boast of having transformed its agenda to core issues like BRICS, particularly when it started off primarily as a politico-economic body. The development indicates that BRICS members are branching off into the vital areas of security, and in just four summits.

Apart from terrorism, the meeting focused on international hot spots like Syria and Libya, in addition to Mali.

An idea of the BRICS NSAs' agenda at the New Delhi meet was given by the Indian NSA Shivshankar Menon: "What we really used the meeting for was to consult, to coordinate, and to see where we can cooperate on some of these issues."

Menon also stressed, "We discussed how the BRICS can work together for global peace, for stability, for development, and how BRICS could be a factor of stability and growth. It is clear that when you look at the world economy and the condition it is in, much of the growth in the economy is actually coming from emerging economies, from what are called developing countries."

What made the BRICS NSAs meet click was the fact that each of the five BRICS members enjoys a vibrant relationship with the other members. This was articulated by Menon himself: "There was a high level of congruence in our discussion of these issues. We found it very useful, in fact useful enough that at the end everyone said we must do this again."

Another important point on the agenda was that the NSAs thrashed out the security agenda for the fifth BRICS summit to be held in Durban, South Africa, in March 2013.

The New Delhi meeting has given a new dimension to BRICS, which is set to acquire more importance in the coming years.



The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist-author and a strategic analyst. bhootnath004@yahoo.com



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