NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi were part of BRICS NSA meet organised under Russian BRICS Presidency. Russian NSA Nikolai Patrushev led the meeting that comprised NSAs from Brazil and South Africa as well. Russia has been engaging in quiet diplomacy to defuse Sino-Indian tensions and BRICS-SCO-RIC platforms under its presidency have provided opportunity for India and China to engage.
While no bilateral matters are part of BRICS format, the platform acted as a CBM amid LAC tensions, ET has learnt. Doval and Jiechi have dealt with each other in the past including during the Doklam crisis. India has been of the view that rules based order and safeguarding territorial sovereignty must be hallmark of international relations.
The BRICS NSAs referred to groups’ counter-terror strategy that will be adopted next month at the BRICS Summit. Cooperation in the field of biological security was discussed. So was WHO’s coordinating role in pandemic, sources told ET. BRICS counter-terror strategy is expected to be a major tool by the world’s five key countries to combat international terror.
Information Security was also discussed and the need to adopt common approaches were highlighted, sources informed. The meet expressed concern over tensions in Iran, Syria and Venezuela.