PM Modi Calls for Stronger BRICS Cooperation to Build Resilient, Innovative and Sustainable Global Growth
New Delhi, September 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for deeper cooperation among BRICS countries to promote inclusive global growth, stressing the importance of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability in addressing emerging global challenges.
Addressing the session of the 18th BRICS Summit on the theme “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth,” Modi welcomed the participating leaders to what he described as the “extended family of BRICS,” saying the gathering reflected the grouping’s growing strength, appeal and mutual trust.
He said India’s BRICS Presidency had focused on four key pillars—resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability—and expressed satisfaction that, with the support of member countries, these priorities had been translated into practical areas of cooperation.
Highlighting the growing number of conflicts and tensions across the world, the Prime Minister said their impact was increasingly being felt by ordinary people. He noted that pandemics, climate-related disasters and disruptions to supply chains had demonstrated that, in an interconnected world, no crisis remained confined to one region.
Against this backdrop, he said BRICS had placed particular emphasis on strengthening resilience by identifying emerging challenges early, preparing adequately and responding promptly.
Modi highlighted initiatives including the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases, Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines for disaster management, and the BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework aimed at making global supply chains more reliable and resilient.
On innovation, the Prime Minister said the BRICS Incubator Network would facilitate greater linkages among start-ups and incubators across member countries. He also highlighted India’s proposal for a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to promote innovative and scalable solutions.
He said the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture would open new opportunities for farmers by connecting artificial intelligence, geospatial technologies and Digital Public Infrastructure with their practical needs.
Modi also cautioned that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals could obstruct shared development, underscoring the need for an inclusive approach to technological advancement.
Emphasising the people-centric dimension of BRICS cooperation, he said India had sought to ensure that the grouping’s engagement extended beyond governments to include entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth and ordinary citizens.
He referred to BRICS CONNECT as an initiative aimed at advancing skills, employability, women’s participation in the workforce, social security and capacity building. He also highlighted the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal, designed to connect small enterprises with knowledge, finance and new markets, and the BRICS Urban Mobility Hub for facilitating the exchange of best practices among cities.
On sustainability, Modi said Indian civilisation had traditionally regarded nature as a mother and viewed development and environmental protection as complementary rather than competing objectives.
He said BRICS had similarly emphasised the need to balance human development with environmental sustainability, describing it as a responsibility towards future generations.
Among the initiatives in this area, he highlighted the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage, which he said would contribute to making clean-energy systems more reliable, efficient and accessible.
He also referred to Centres of Excellence for Agro-Ecology and Regenerative Agriculture, aimed at linking traditional knowledge with modern scientific approaches. Community-based climate adaptation principles, he said, would help place indigenous knowledge at the centre of climate action.
Modi said the four pillars of India’s BRICS Presidency were intended to advance inclusive global growth and stressed that solutions developed within BRICS should not remain confined to the grouping.
“BRICS solutions should be adaptable and accessible to meet the needs of the Global South,” he said, underlining the importance of making the grouping’s experience relevant to developing countries beyond its membership.
Drawing on his experience, the Prime Minister said confidence in BRICS among countries of the Global South had increased because their voices were heard, their experiences respected and solutions developed together with them rather than merely for them.
He said the strength of BRICS lay in its diversity and cooperation, adding that while member countries were rooted in different realities, collective cooperation could contribute to progress benefiting humanity as a whole.
Concluding his remarks, Modi called for preserving diversity as the identity of BRICS, making cooperation a source of inspiration and ensuring that the grouping’s progress served the wider interests of humanity. ANB
