MEA S Jaishankar urges BRICS' support in UN Security Council reforms

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday urged full support of BRICS in reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as an exercise in collective faith in meaningful multilateralism.

He made the comments during a virtual meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers convened by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday.

"Thank Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for convening the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting today. Positively assessed the progress made during the Russian Chair, especially in counter-terrorism, economic cooperation, ICTs and people-to-people contacts," Jaishankar tweeted.

He said, "Exchanged views on the international situation and regional hotspots including Afghanistan and West Asia. Urged full support of BRICS in reforming UNSC as an exercise in our collective faith in meaningful multilateralism."

The BRICS ministers acknowledged the joint statement by BRICS Trade Ministers on Multilateral Trading System and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) reform on July 23 and reaffirmed their support for a transparent, open, inclusive and non-discriminatory rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the WTO, according to a joint statement.

"They reiterated the importance of WTO reform and emphasised the central role of the WTO in promoting predictability, stability, and legal certainty for international trade. The ministers stressed the value of cooperation between states, both bilaterally and multilaterally," it said.

The ministers expressed their support for continuing the diplomatic negotiations in bilateral and multilateral formats to resolve all issues pertaining to the Korean Peninsula, including its denuclearisation, and maintain peace and stability in North-East Asia.

"They reaffirmed the commitment for a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation," the statement further said.