RIC to scale up cooperation to combat terrorism

Seeking to strengthen trilateral cooperation on global issues, India, Russia and China Monday impressed upon the need to escalate intelligence gathering and sharing as well as preventing misuse of digital technology in view of the new trends in international terrorist activities.

In the ministerial-level Russia, India, China (RIC) summit in Beijing, foreign ministers of the three countries emphasized the need to step up information gathering and sharing and prevent the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies for the purposes of recruitment and incitement to commit terrorist acts, said an official joint communique of the 13th meeting of the RIC foreign ministers.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as her Chinese and Russian counterparts Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov called for all countries to converge under the auspices of the United Nations to combat terrorism, seen as a "threat" to international peace and security.

They also impressed upon the need for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative and efficient.

Russia and China reaffirmed the importance of India's bid for a greater role in the organisation.

With a view to ensuring regional peace and stability, the ministers also sought to strengthen coordination and cooperation in varied regional organizations such as the ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, Asia-Europe Meeting, and Asia Cooperation Dialogue, the statement said.

Sushma Swaraj began her visit to Beijing Jan 31.