Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged that global trade be safeguarded by securing maritime routes and the seafarers that traverse them, at the Leaders' Session of the BRICS Business Forum, ahead of the BRICS Summit on September 12-13.
"India is a staunch supporter of freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers," he said in his address, noting the impact of global headwinds on maritime trade.
Yet, he noted that amid all this uncertainty, India—the BRICS Summit chair for this edition—was growing, and was offering assured growth and stability, and was building economic bridges while other nations were putting up trade barriers.
"We are rapidly expanding our roads, railways, ports, and airports. Simultaneously, we are building new capabilities in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals, and biotechnology," he noted.
In a larger comment on the growing influence of the bloc itself, the PM pointed out that since its inception in 2006 with just four countries, the "BRICS family" had grown to 21 countries, including not just member nations, but also partners.
He also offered some statistics on BRICS nations: that they now comprise 50 per cent of the world's population, 40 per cent of its GDP, and over 25 per cent of global trade.
Moreover, while global GDP has grown by almost two-and-a-half times over these years, the combined GDP of BRICS nations has expanded nearly twice as fast, he said.
"BRICS nations are also emerging as key hubs for global innovation and solutions. New possibilities for innovation, spanning everything from grassroots initiatives to frontier technologies, are taking shape within our countries," Modi explained, calling the latest edition of the BRICS Business Forum the largest till date.
Modi's speech also looked at the future of the bloc, which is entering its third decade, urging its members to review their progress on three key parameters every year.
"Can you prepare a report on removing the top ten trade barriers among BRICS nations? Can we support 100 BRICS startups annually to scale up in other BRICS markets? Can we forge a thousand new partnerships among our businesses? We should review our progress on these three parameters every year," Modi urged, as he concluded his Friday address.
