By IANS
New Delhi : India, Russia and China Wednesday made a strong pitch for UN reforms and closer cooperation on pressing global issues like terrorism to create a multi-polar world as the trilateral meeting of their foreign ministers concluded in the Chinese city of Harbin.
Underlining the need to reform the United Nations to reflect contemporary realities, Russia and China strongly backed a bigger role for India on the international stage.
“The foreign ministers of China and Russia reiterated that their countries attach importance to the status of India in international affairs, and understand and support India’s aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations,” a joint communiqué issued at the end of the talks said.
Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee held talks with his counterparts, Yang Jiechi of China, the host of the meeting, and Sergei Lavrov of Russia to enhance economic cooperation and closer coordination on global issues.
In a message aimed at the US, the three countries stressed that their cooperation was not directed against any country even as they warned against double standards in the fight against global terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
“They reaffirmed that trilateral cooperation is not targeted against any other country or organization and is intended to promote international harmony and mutual understanding and seeks to broaden common ground amidst divergent interests,” the communiqué said.
“They further emphasized that they would continue to promote democratisation of international relations and evolution of a more just and rational international order,” it said.
Stressing on multilateralism and collective action on global issues like terrorism and climate change, the three countries called for strengthening the role of the UN and improving its efficiency.
“Collection action within the framework of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy and under the central and coordinating role of the UN and its Security Council should be strengthened. Double standards should not be adopted,” the communiqué said.
The three countries pushed for a speedy finalisation of the draft UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and agreed to coordinate their action against all factors that feed international terrorism, including its financing, drug trafficking and trans-national organized crime.
“We believe that our trilateral dialogue mechanism improves mutual understanding and trust with regard to these common challenges and contributes to strengthening peace, security and stability in our region and the world,” Mukherjee said in his opening remarks at a joint press interaction with his counterparts from Russia and China.
India will host a trilateral business forum Dec 15, which will focus on sectors of common business interest, Mukherjee announced.
“Through this trilateral meeting, we have been able to cooperate closely to create a better international environment and a better environment in our own neighbourhood,” Yang said at a luncheon in honour of his Indian and Russian counterparts in the northeast Chinese city.
The three-way meeting was the third stand-alone trilateral Foreign Ministers’ meeting after the first one in Vladivostok on June 2, 2005 and the second in New Delhi on Feb 14, 2007.
Enhanced cooperation in areas such as agriculture, disaster mitigation and public health was also discussed. A trilateral seminar on emerging geo-strategic trends with the participation of officials and scholars from the three countries will also be held in India early next year.
The first summit meeting among the leaders of India, Russia and China took place on July 17, 2006 in St Petersburg on the sidelines of the meetings of the G-8 and its outreach countries.