Countries Harbouring Terrorists Should Pay The Price, Says Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: Countries sponsoring and harbouring terrorists should be made to pay the price, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today, calling for a united global fight against terrorism.

In an address to BRICS Youth Summit, Ms Swaraj said the fight should be carried out without any distinction being made between "good" and "bad" terrorists.

Ms Swaraj said BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) was shaping the global discourse significantly to deal with a range of challenges like climate change, poverty alleviation and corruption and that it must also work to eliminate terrorism.

"We also need to work and fight together to eliminate international terrorism in BRICS, UN Security Council and its various Committees. This should be done without any differentiation of a 'good' or 'bad' terrorist.

"A terrorist is a terrorist and is someone who is acting against humanity as a whole. Those countries which sponsor and harbour terrorists should be made to pay the price," Ms Swaraj said.

India will host the eighth annual Summit of BRICS in Goa in October in its capacity as chair of the influential bloc comprising the five countries account for 42 per cent of the world's population and combined GDP of over USD 16 trillion.

"We also need to work together for early reforms of the UN Security Council, so that this body continues to be relevant to the needs of the 21st century," she said.

Noting that building "responsive, inclusive and collective solutions" would be core to India's BRICS chairmanship, she said in its short journey, the bloc has left an indelible mark on the global economic and financial architecture.

"The establishment of New Development Bank and Contingency Reserve Arrangement have been landmark achievements in this regard," she said.

Talking about youth power, Ms Swaraj said 800 million citizens of India are under the age of 35 and they are the driving force in making India the fastest growing major economy in the world.

"In Prime Minister Modi you will find the biggest champion of youth. He had stressed the role of youth in his address at the Fortaleza Summit," she said.

Youths from all the BRICS member nations are participating in the summit.

"All five BRICS countries have rich resources in terms of youth and BRICS countries' youthful and democratic profiles, combined with our economic vibrancy, can be an asset in consolidating exchanges between our people," she said.

During India's BRICS Chairmanship, a series of events are being organised with special focus on youth.