BENAULIM, India -- The leaders of five of the world's rising powers ended a two-day summit Sunday with a pledge to speed global economic recovery as well as fight terrorism and extremism.
Meeting in the beach resort state of Goa in southwestern India, the five countries known collectively as BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- adopted a final declaration endorsing their commitment to act against the financing of terror groups and their supplies of weapons and other equipment.
"We agree that those who nurture, shelter and support the forces of violence and terror are as much a threat as the terrorists themselves," the declaration said.
Presidents Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Michel Temer of Brazil and Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and their host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also vowed in the declaration to tackle the global economic slowdown and improve the world's financial architecture.
The group, which represents nearly half of the world's population and a quarter of its economy, with a combined annual gross domestic product of $16.6 trillion, renewed its commitment to speed global recovery by investing in infrastructure projects and the manufacturing sector.
Modi said the five nations had $250 billion in trade with one another and that "we should set ourselves a target to double this number to $500 billion by 2020."
The five nations' leaders adopted three agreements, including two to set up separate research networks for developing agriculture and railways. They agreed to crack down on economic crime by fighting tax evasion, money laundering and corruption.
"We have agreed to make the BRICS a strong voice on emerging regional and global issues," Modi told reporters.
The leaders stressed the need to strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection, and they hailed the early entry into force of the Paris climate agreement.
The five nations agreed that the New Development Bank, which the group set up in 2014, should continue to focus on infrastructure, technology and renewable energy sectors, adding that "in order to further bridge the gap in the global financial architecture, we agreed to fast-track the setting up of a BRICS credit rating agency."
"In a world of new security challenges and continuing economic uncertainties, BRICS stands as a beacon of peace, potential and promise," Modi said.
The bank, which became operational a year ago, has cleared loans totaling more than $900 million for renewable energy projects in the five nations.
The declaration about the bank and planned credit-rating agency reflected the flagging economic fortunes of the five countries in recent years.
In Russia, the decline in global oil and commodity prices coupled with biting Western sanctions have dealt a blow to the economy. The Chinese economy is expanding at its slowest pace in 25 years, although its 7 percent growth rate still places it among the fastest-growing global economies.
South Africa remains caught in severe economic turmoil, with the country's credit rating at risk of being downgraded to junk by the end of the year.
Brazil is only just emerging from the worst economic recession it has seen since the 1930s, a situation that was further worsened by recent political turmoil.
India, though it's the fastest-growing economy in the world at 7.5 percent annually, is grappling with widespread poverty and the challenge of strikes against militants in Kashmir.
The five nations originally banded together to reshape global governance by giving an international voice to countries excluded from established multilateral organizations. But apart from having large populations and emerging market status, the five have little in common.
India is attempting to warm up to the United States, though Russia is its longtime ally. That was reaffirmed Saturday before the summit, when Modi pledged to deepen defense ties with Russia. In a meeting between Modi and Putin, both leaders decided to accelerate the process to draw up a free-trade agreement between India and the Eurasian region.
China and India, despite a $74.9 billion trading relationship, are also geopolitical rivals: China has blocked India's attempt to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, has sought closer ties with India's rival Pakistan, and has concerned India with investments in neighboring South Asian countries.
But India scored a key victory with the summit's final declaration on fighting extremism. India has long been trying to gather international support for the fight against terrorism stemming from its own concerns about militants who it says cross the border from Pakistan into Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denies the allegation.
"Terrorism casts a long shadow on our development and economic prosperity," Modi said. "Its reach is now global. It has grown more lethal and adept at the use of technology. Our response to terrorism must, therefore, be nothing less than comprehensive."
Next year, China will host the ninth summit of the five nations.
Information for this article was contributed by Nirmala George and staff members of The Associated Press; and by Iain Marlow, Unni Krishnan and Stepan Kravchenko of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 10/17/2016