New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said BRICS must focus on building resilience, fostering innovation, strengthening cooperation and promoting sustainability to shape a more inclusive model of global development.
Addressing the opening session of the 18th BRICS Summit, Modi welcomed leaders of the expanded BRICS family, saying the gathering reflected the grouping’s growing strength, global appeal and unprecedented trust.
Modi said rising geopolitical tensions were having a growing impact on ordinary people, while pandemics, climate disasters and supply-chain disruptions had demonstrated that crises in an interconnected world rarely remain confined to one region.
India’s BRICS chairship, he said, had therefore placed particular emphasis on resilience — identifying challenges early, preparing for them and responding swiftly.
Among the initiatives highlighted were a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for infectious diseases, Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines for disaster management and a BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework aimed at making supply chains more reliable and resilient.
Under the innovation pillar, Modi highlighted the BRICS Incubator Network to connect start-ups and incubators across member countries and proposed the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to promote innovative and scalable solutions.
He also pointed to the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, which seeks to connect AI, geospatial technology and digital public infrastructure with farmers’ needs.
Modi cautioned that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals could hinder shared progress, stressing the need for inclusive technology adoption.
On sustainability, Modi said development and environmental protection should be viewed as complementary rather than competing priorities. He highlighted initiatives on smart grids, energy storage, agro-ecology, regenerative agriculture and community-based climate adaptation.
He said BRICS initiatives should not benefit only member countries but should be adaptable and accessible to the wider Global South.
“BRICS’s strength is in our diversity and cooperation,” Modi said, adding that the grouping’s solutions should be developed with the Global South rather than merely for it.
“Let our diversity remain our identity, our cooperation be our inspiration, and our progress serve all of humanity,” he said.
