NEW DELHI (TIP): India on January 10 hosted the first standalone meeting of the National Security Advisers (NSAs) of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations that featured discussions on a range of global issues, including terrorism, cyber security and piracy. The meeting was attended by India’s NSA Shivshankar Menon, Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai P Patrushev, Brazil’s Secretary for Strategic Affairs Ricardo Paes de Barros and South Africa’s Minister of State for Security Siyabonga C Cwele. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Menon said the BRICS NSAs have met on the sidelines of each summit.

However, it had been felt that the NSAs should also hold meetings regularly to discuss cooperation among the five countries as well as to take stock of global developments. The five BRICS nations that represent nearly 43 per cent of the world population have maintained stable and fast growth on the whole thus becoming an important force in pushing forward the global economic agenda. The meeting also discussed major international security-related issues that the five nations’ top leadership will talk about during the fifth BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, in March. Menon said there was an in-depth discussion on the situation in Syria, Libya and Mali. The representatives of the five countries were of the view that the Syrian people should be allowed to decide their future without any outside interference. The international community should only play the role of a facilitator.