Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorism was the biggest threat to humanity as it not only kills innocents but also severely affects economic development and social stability, PTI reported. Modi was addressing an informal meeting of the BRICS bloc – comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka.

The prime minister said he had called for organising a global conference on terrorism. “Lack of necessary consent to fight against terrorism cannot keep us inactive,” he added.

Modi spoke about strengthening the World Trade Organization, fighting protectionism, ensuring energy security, and the need to fight terrorism together. “Today, I will focus on the three major challenges,” he said. “First, the recession and uncertainty in the world economy. Unilateral decisions and rivalries are overshadowing rule-based multilateral international trade systems. On the other hand, the lack of resources is reflected in the fact that there is a shortage of an estimated $1.3 trillion in investment for emerging market economies.”

He said the second challenge was to ensure the sustainability of development and make it inclusive. Fast-changing technologies such as digitalisation and climate change pose a challenge to the current and future generations, the prime minister added.

Modi talked of a five-point approach to tackle these challenges, saying the ill effects of unilateral decisions can be addressed to an extent by coordination between the BRICS countries. “We need to emphasise on the necessary reforms in international financial and business institutions and organisations for improving multilateralism,” he said.

The prime minister said energy resources such as oil and gas should be available at low prices regularly for continuous economic development. For sustainable and inclusive development, the New Development Bank should prioritise investment in physical and social infrastructure, and renewable energy programmes of member countries, he added. The New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Modi congratulated Jair Bolsonaro on being elected the president of Brazil, and welcomed him to the BRICS family. He also congratulated Cyril Ramaphosa on his election as the president of South Africa.

Earlier in the day, Modi met United States President Donald Trump ahead of the opening of the G20 summit to discuss bilateral and global matters. The two leaders met shortly after a trilateral meeting that also involved Japan. They discussed a host of key matters, including trade, defence relations and 5G communications networks.