Russia-India-China Find Common Ground Fighting COVID-19, Urging Aid for Afghanistan

Nov. 27, 2021 (EIRNS)—The 18th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China—the RIC cooperation organization—took place online by video-conference on Nov. 26, and concluded with a lengthy communiqué which included a handful of substantive points of agreement among the three powerhouse nations. Given the serious tensions between India and China over recent years, which the British have manipulated and exacerbated to keep India out of the Belt and Road Initiative, the RIC results were a significant strategic advance.

First, the three countries agreed on the need for an “international response to global health challenges including pandemics, with equitable and affordable access to medicines, vaccines and critical health supplies. They reiterated the need for continued cooperation in this fight inter alia through sharing of vaccine doses, transfer of technology, development of local production capacities, promotion of supply chains for medical products.”

Second, they stated their commitment to “step up efforts in jointly countering terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and trans-border organized crime,” and they emphasized “their determination to counter the spread of illicit drug trafficking in opiates and methamphetamine from Afghanistan and beyond, which poses a serious threat to regional security and stability and provides funding for terrorist organization.”

Third, the RIC joint communiqué “called for immediate and unhindered humanitarian assistance to be provided to Afghanistan,” while emphasizing their support for the “formation of a truly inclusive government that represents all the major ethnic and political groups of the country.” They also “stressed the necessity of urgent elimination of UNSC proscribed terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIL and others for lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region,” and that “the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any other country, and that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country.”

In his opening remarks to the meeting as RIC Chairman, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reaffirmed “India’s commitment to foster closer dialogue and cooperation among the three largest nations in the Eurasian region.” He stated that the pandemic proved that “The need of the hour is, therefore ‘One Earth One Health.’ ” And he emphasized that “the RIC countries need to work together to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the Afghan people.”