The five BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries today expressed concern over the latest developments in Afghanistan and called for an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the embattled country.

In the ”New Delhi declaration” adopted by them at the end of their 13th summit chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BRICS nations appealed to all parties in Afghanistan to refrain from violence and settle the situation by peaceful means.

”We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks near the Hamid Karzai Kabul International Airport that resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries. We underscore the priority of fighting terrorism, including preventing attempts by terrorist organisations to use Afghan territory as terrorist sanctuary and to carry out attacks against other countries, as well as drug trade within Afghanistan. We emphasise the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of women, children and minorities,” the 74-point declaration said.

Apart from Modi, the summit was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia President Vladimir Putin, South African President Ramaphosa and Brazil President Bolsonaro.

The BRICS nations strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed. ”We recognize the threat emanating from terrorism, extremism conducive to terrorism and radicalization. We commit to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and terrorism financing networks and safe havens,” the declaration said.

Earlier, addressing the summit, Prime Minister Modi said the five BRICS countries have arrived at a consensus with regard to starting a virtual BRICS Vaccination Research and Development Centre.

He said the five countries have also adopted the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan. ”With an agreement on Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation between our space agencies, a new chapter of cooperation has begun (among BRICS countries, he added.

He observed that with cooperation between customs departments of the BRICS countries, intra- BRICS trade would become easier.

The Prime Minister said BRICS Alliance on green tourism was also another new initiative of the grouping. ”All of these new initiatives will not only benefit our citizens but will also enable BRICS as an institution to remain relevant in the coming years,” he added.

Modi said the BRICS platform has witnessed several achievements in the last one and a half decades. ”Today we are an influential voice for the emerging economies of the world. This platform has also been useful for focusing attention on the priorities of developing nations as well.”