The 11th annual BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group meetings were held in New Delhi under India's chairship, giving member countries a platform to discuss terrorism, emerging technologies and coordinated responses. The meetings marked 10 years since the working group was established.
India used the forum to call for collective and united efforts against terrorism. Ambassador Sibi George, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said BRICS members should work together to make the counter-terrorism mechanism more resilient, constructive, innovative, inclusive and result-oriented.
The Pahalgam terrorist attack of 22 April 2025 formed an important reference point. India thanked BRICS partners for solidarity after the attack and reiterated its zero-tolerance position. The grouping also condemned terrorist attacks against BRICS member countries and discussed the full spectrum of cooperation needed to handle existing and emerging threats.
The agenda matters because terrorism is no longer limited to conventional attacks. Financing networks, online radicalisation, encrypted communication, drones, cross-border handlers and cyber tools can all become part of the threat chain. That makes international coordination more important, especially among countries with large populations and complex security environments.
India's chairship also reflects its effort to push counter-terrorism into multilateral forums where political language can sometimes become diluted. By focusing on working-group cooperation, New Delhi can keep the emphasis on operational contact, thematic sub-groups and shared threat assessment.
The practical value of the meeting will depend on whether information sharing, capacity building and legal cooperation improve after the statements. For citizens, the issue is direct: counter-terror cooperation is meaningful only when it helps prevent attacks, disrupt networks and support lawful investigation without weakening civil protections.
