India and South Africa were among the countries that called for deeper collaboration to address threats ranging from terrorism and cybercrime to artificial intelligence-driven disinformation….reports Asian Lite News Desk
The 16th BRICS Meeting of High Representatives for National Security, held in New Delhi, underscored the urgent need for stronger regional and multilateral cooperation to tackle a growing range of global security challenges, according to a report published by South African media outlet The Citizen.
The report said the meeting highlighted the increasing importance of collective responses to threats such as terrorism, infectious diseases, energy insecurity, cybercrime and climate-related disasters, with India and South Africa among the countries calling for deeper collaboration among BRICS member states.
“There is a growing need for stronger regional and multilateral cooperation to develop collective responses to challenges such as terrorism, infectious diseases, energy insecurity, cybercrime and climate-related disasters. The urgency of such cooperation was underscored at the 16th BRICS meeting of high representatives responsible for security matters,” The Citizen reported.
The meeting brought together senior security officials from BRICS nations to discuss evolving global risks and ways to strengthen cooperation in addressing both traditional and emerging threats.
Addressing the meeting, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval warned that the international security environment was becoming increasingly volatile due to a combination of military conflicts, economic pressures, geopolitical uncertainty and rapidly evolving technologies.
He said these factors were posing significant challenges to the stability and security of BRICS member states.
The report also highlighted Doval’s remarks that disruptive technologies and cyberattacks increasingly transcend national borders, making conventional defence and security responses inadequate for addressing modern threats.
Doval said the meeting was taking place at a “very tumultuous time”, adding that international institutions were struggling to respond effectively to increasingly complex global challenges while multilateral cooperation itself was coming under strain.
According to the report, the concept of national security has expanded well beyond conventional military threats in today’s interconnected world. Globalisation, digital connectivity and rapid technological advances have exposed countries to a wider spectrum of non-traditional security risks, including cyberattacks, pandemics, terrorism and the misuse of artificial intelligence.
The report noted that these emerging threats are often interconnected, transnational and difficult to contain.
“Unlike conventional military threats, these emerging challenges are often interconnected, transnational and difficult to contain. Cybercrime, for example, can finance terrorist networks operating across borders, making it both a criminal and national security concern,” The Citizen report said.
Delegates also discussed the need to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure, improve maritime security and safeguard major international energy routes, particularly at a time when global energy supplies face disruptions linked to tensions surrounding the conflict in the Middle East.
The meeting further identified artificial intelligence-driven disinformation campaigns as an emerging challenge requiring enhanced cooperation among BRICS countries, with delegates stressing that closer coordination could play an important role in countering such threats.
