National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday, held a working meeting with the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev and discussed the cooperation between two countries in the field of security and economy, the Russian embassy in India said in a statement. The meeting was held in Johannesburg, South Africa on the sidelines of a meeting of representatives from BRICS countries.

During the meeting, both sides held detailed discussions on Russian-Indian cooperation on security issues as well as interaction in the field of the economy. Earlier in the day, NSA Doval met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in South Africa and the two sides agreed that India-China bilateral relationship is significant not only for the two countries but also for the region and the world.

During the meeting, NSA Doval conveyed that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China boundary since 2020 had eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship, according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. On July 24, Doval participated in the ‘Friends of BRICS’ meeting in Johannesburg and according to sources, he highlighted that the gravity of cyber risks will increase exponentially with the advent of disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Internet of Things.

During the meeting, NSA Doval also highlighted the need for collective efforts to deal with challenges emanating from cybersecurity. He pointed out the linkages between cyber criminals and terrorists including the use of cyber space for financing, money laundering, radicalizing, lone wolf attacks, recruitment and secured communications, the sources said.

The NSA also held several bilaterals with his counterparts from BRICS and ‘Friends of BRICS’ countries. BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

(ANI)