Pak says Brics member blocked participation in Beijing meeting

HT Correspondents

NEW DELHI/BEIJING: A member of Brics (Brazil-russia-india-china-south Africa) blocked Pakistan’s participation in a meeting hosted by Beijing on the margins of the bloc’s summit last week, Islamabad said on Monday without naming the country. Though Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar did not name the Brics member which blocked Pakistan’s participation in the high-level dialogue on global development on June 24, media reports in Pakistan cited sources as saying the country was India.

“China being the host country engaged with Pakistan prior to the Brics meetings, where decisions are taken after consultations with all Brics members, including extending an invitation to non-members,” Iftikhar said in a statement.

“Regrettably, one member blocked Pakistan’s participation.”

Besides the leaders of Brics states, China had also invited leaders of 13 countries to the event, which was widely seen as part of a push by Beijing to expand the five-member grouping.

The countries invited to what is being described as a “Bricsplus” meeting were Algeria, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Senegal,

Thailand and Uzbekistan. There was no immediate reaction to the development from Indian officials.

When Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was asked about the issue by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan at a regular news briefing on Monday, he replied that the decision to hold the highlevel dialogue was “based on consultation among Brics countries,” but did not elaborate.

“China and Pakistan are allweather strategic cooperative partners. Pakistan is an important member of the group of friends of the Global Development Initiative,” the spokesperson said.

China values Pakistan’s role in promoting global development and advancing the implementation of the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development and boosting regional cooperation, Zhao said.

THOUGH PAKISTAN DIDN’T NAME THE MEMBER, MEDIA REPORTS IN THE COUNTRY CITED PEOPLE AS SAYING IT WAS INDIA