RIC Forum calls for early conclusion of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism

Russia, India and China have called for an early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the RIC Forum held in Beijing.

In this regard, a joint communiqué was issued by 3 nations in the 13th trilateral meeting of foreign ministers, under this forum.

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian foreign Minister Sergey Levrov had participated in the meeting.

Key highlights of RIC Forum

• Condemned terrorism- Participating countries strongly condemned terrorism in all forms. They even mentioned that there can be no ideological, political, racial, ethnic or any other justification for acts of terrorism.
• Join efforts to combat terrorism- Ministers affirmed the need for all countries to join efforts in combating terrorism under the auspices of United Nations.
• Support to India- Russia and China supported India’s aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations. They also welcomed India’s application for full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• Economic front- All members expressed their support for the forthcoming WTO 10th Ministerial conference in December 2015, to expand their cooperation in several areas including agriculture, medical services and disaster relief.
• Other Issues- They also discussed various issues including efforts to counter the threat of use of information and communication technologies for military and terrorism purposes, preventing arms race in outer space, solution to Iranian nuclear issue, latest developments in Syria, Israel- Palestine conflict and current crisis in Ukraine.

The next trilateral meeting of the RIC Forum will be held in Russia later in 2015.