In a veiled reference to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that there is a need to make sure that countries that support and assist terrorists are held guilty, calling terrorism the "biggest problem” the world is facing.

The prime minister was addressing the 12th five-nation BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he said that there was a need for tackling terrorism in an organised way.

"Terrorism is the biggest problem the world is facing. We have to ensure that the countries that support and assist the terrorists are also held guilty," the prime minister said, without naming anyone.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa were also present at the summit.

Modi also called for the need to reform the United Nations Security Council, as well as multilateral bodies including the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund.

Detailing about the Covid-19 situation, Modi said that the vaccine production and delivery capabilities in India will work in the interest of humanity.

He highlighted the initiatives taken by the Indian government under the ‘self-reliant’ movement.

"We have started a comprehensive reform process under the 'Self-reliant India' campaign. The campaign is based on the belief that a self-reliant and resilient India post-Covid can be a force multiplier for the global economy and make a strong contribution to the global value chains,", the PM said.

Host Putin backed Modi's statements on terrorism and said that some countries were like the "black sheep of the family" adding that the world can afford to show no smugness in dealing with problems including terrorists and pandemic.

The BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), with its combined GDP of $16.6 trillion, is seen as an influential council which represents half the world’s population, or 3.6 billion people.