The BRICS high representatives on national security held their meeting at the Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa on Friday, 6 December 2013.
The meeting observed a minute’s silence in honour of the late former President Nelson Mandela, joining millions of South Africans and the rest of the world in expressing its condolences to the people of South Africa, the African National Congress and the Mandela family.
The High Level Representatives dealt with a number of security matters in preparation for the next summit of the leaders of BRICS in Brazil in 2014.
Reflecting on the issues of cyber security/information security, the meeting agreed on the establishment of an expert working group that will meet in early 2014, in South Africa, to finalise concrete set of proposals for adoption by the leaders’ summit.
On the prevention of terrorism, the meeting agreed to cooperate closely, working through the United Nations system as a primary forum in preventing, combating and mitigating threats pertaining thereto. Part of the collaboration agreed upon will involve sharing best practices, capacity building and sharing of information and intelligence.
Challenges pertaining to global peace and security were also reflected upon and the BRICS countries agreed to continue working collectively to ensure positive outcomes and the resolution of conflicts in such hotspots inclusive of advancing the security agenda in the African continent.
Noting the importance of transport in economic, social, political and cultural lives of all humanity, the meeting resolved to strengthen cooperation with regards to transport security including anti-piracy initiatives with regards to knowledge sharing and capacity building with states in piracy-affected areas.
South Africa expresses its gratitude to its partners and looks forward to continued, lasting and cordial working relations with its partners.
