Goa successfully hosted a major international summit bringing together heads of state and government from 11 countries, and India – the host – was successful in getting the discussions at the meet to focus on cross border terrorism and not just terrorism in general. It’s a major victory for India that got the Goa Declaration of the BRICS summit to condemn the ‘recent several attacks, against some BRICS countries, including that in India’ and getting the BRICS countries to agree to ‘strengthen cooperation in combating international terrorism both at the bilateral level and at international fora’. While this pledge may not be binding on the member countries, the focus is definitely on terror in the Indian subcontinent.
Yet, the Goa Declaration is a long one, taking into account various aspects, issues and global initiatives. Terrorism is just one paragraph in it that has been focused on due to the current situation in the country. Past declarations of BRICS countries have all condemned terrorism and pledged to work together in combating it, what makes this declaration different is that it emphasis on the ‘recent attacks on India’ putting the focus on the current situation in the country.
The BRICS summit discussed terror in Goa when in Jammu and Kashmir the Indian forces were combating terrorists, making the discussion all the more urgent and relevant. The Goa Declaration is also especially significant as China that had earlier refrained from openly condemning the terrorist attacks in India, is now, as a BRICS member, a party to the declaration. The summit also supported the adoption of an India-baked global convention by the UN to fight terrorism effectively. While there was no mention of Pakistan in the declaration, though Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his addresses had called the country the ‘mothership of terrorism’, the declaration as it was worded still comes as a victory for India in its attempts to isolate Pakistan in the international fora.
As Goa returns to normal – after a weekend when certain roads were closed and fishing and water sports activities curtailed in areas close to the summit hotels – it needs to reflect on what it gained from the experience. Earlier, as Goa prepared to host the summit, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had said the meet would be an opportunity to showcase Goa to the various heads of State, repeatedly stating that it is a challenge that the State was turning into an opportunity. Where ‘infrastructure’ is concerned, the State might have been successful in turning the summit into an opportunity. South Goa, not all of it, was spruced up for the weekend.
This has been the first major summit was hosted by Goa. The last time Goa had been the venue of any international meeting was in 1983, when it was selected for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Retreat. The meeting had been held in New Delhi, but the weekend retreat had been in Goa and North Goa had got widened roads that till today bear the name Chogm road. This time the stretch from Benaulim to Mobor got the benefit. But did Goa also exploit the opportunities to enter into investment opportunities with BRICS nations or even the BIMSTEC countires?
There were talks held. A Chinese delegation has offered to invest in Goa in the IT sector – 3D printing specifically – and also showed interest in constructing a film city in the State. It is for the State and the business community to take this further. For Goa needs investment and job opportunities, and the BRICS summit and BIMSTEC outreach were opportunities where the State could have networked with delegations to promote itself as an investment destination. If it didn’t then it is an opportunity that Goa will not get again for a long time.
