NEW DELHI — National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday called on the BRICS nations to work together to effectively deal with terrorism and challenges emanating from the digital domain.
In his address at a conclave of the national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) in St Petersburg, Doval also called for reform of multilateralism saying existing structures are no longer capable of handling modern threats and sensitive issues of common concerns.
At the venue of the conclave, Doval also had a brief interaction with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.
Doval and Wang are set to hold a bilateral meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the BRICS conclave.
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"The wide participation in the meeting today testifies to the fact that there is an urgent need to reform multilateralism if we are to restore credibility," he said.
During the sessions in the first half of the day, Doval spoke on modern security challenges including ICT (Information and Communication Technology) related issues and terrorism and the need to address them through joint efforts within the BRICS framework.
The BRICS NSAs also reviewed pressing security challenges facing the globe.
The three-day conclave is taking place ahead of the annual summit of the grouping.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the BRICS leaders travelling to Moscow to attend the summit next month.
Russia is hosting the summit in Kazan from October 22 to 24.