PTI
New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for BRICS to turn its growing economic weight into greater investment and expanded business ties, stressing that freedom of navigation, secure sea lanes and the safety of seafarers were essential to keeping global trade running.
Addressing the BRICS Business Forum in India, Modi urged the grouping to identify and remove its top 10 trade barriers, scale 100 BRICS startups into other member markets every year and build 1,000 new business partnerships annually.
The grouping, he said, should convert its growing economic weight into concrete opportunities for businesses, positioning India as a country building “economic bridges” at a time when trade barriers are rising globally. “Global trade can only progress if sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open, and seafarers are safe. Therefore, India is a staunch supporter of freedom of navigation and the safety
of seafarers,” he said.
The remarks came amid wars in two theatres and geopolitical conflicts disrupting energy and other trade through vital sea lanes, raising prices and disrupting supply chains. Indian ships have been attacked during the US-Iran conflict and the country’s seafarers have been abducted by pirates.
Modi highlighted the scale of the expanded BRICS grouping, saying member-countries and partners now represent around half of the world’s population, 40% of global GDP and more than a quarter of global trade.
Over the past two decades, he said, the combined GDP of BRICS economies expanded around four-and-a-half times, compared with a roughly two-and-a-half-fold increase in
global GDP.
The Prime Minister hosted Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for talks to review the overall situation in West Asia and chart a path for expanded bilateral relations, marking their second meeting in less than two weeks.
Pezeshkian called for a stronger shift toward local currencies in BRICS trade, while pitching Iran’s geography, energy resources and transport links as a strategic bridge for the bloc’s economic connectivity.
Modi placed infrastructure and strategic technologies at the centre of India’s pitch to global businesses, pointing to rapid expansion of roads, railways, ports and airports alongside new capacity in shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals and biotechnology.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said exports from BRICS countries have risen from about $900 billion in 2003 to $6 trillion in 2024, reflecting the scale of its market and potential.
Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum here, Goyal also said the share of BRICS nations in global exports has nearly doubled to about 24%.
