New Delhi, Sep 13: Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday sought to project BRICS as a platform through which the Global South can have a greater voice in shaping international solutions, saying the grouping’s credibility had grown because the experiences and concerns of developing countries were being heard and addressed collectively.
“From my personal experience, I can say that the Global South countries’ confidence in BRICS has grown, because within BRICS: Their voices are heard. Their experiences are respected. And solutions are developed not for them, but together with them,” PM Modi said.
His remarks came as India has increasingly sought to position itself as a voice for the developing world and use groupings such as BRICS to promote a more inclusive model of global growth.
The PM said the strength of BRICS lay in its diversity and cooperation, with member countries rooted in different realities but able to advance together.
“We may be rooted in different realities, but together, we rise through cooperation, and blossom for humanity,” he said.
PM Modi said India had initiated the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal to connect small enterprises with knowledge, finance and new markets.
The BRICS Urban Mobility Hub had also been established to facilitate the sharing of best practices among cities, he said.
The PM said BRICS’ wider objective was to ensure that the benefits of solutions developed within the grouping were not restricted to its members.
“Building on these four pillars, through BRICS we have sought to promote inclusive global growth,” he said.
“We believe that the benefits of solutions developed within BRICS should not remain confined to BRICS alone. They should be made adaptable and accessible to meet the needs of the Global South,” PM Modi said.
He also linked India’s approach to development with its civilisational view of the environment, saying nature had traditionally been accorded the status of a mother.
“In Indian civilisation, nature has been accorded the status of a mother,” the PM said. “For centuries, we have believed that development and the environment are not alternatives to each other, but are complementary.”
He said BRICS had similarly emphasised the need to strike a balance between human development and the environment.
“This is the foundation of Sustainability. It is also our responsibility towards future generations,” PM Modi said.
He said the grouping had made progress on several fronts.
For Smart Grids and Energy Storage, BRICS had established the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence, which, the PM said, would help make clean-energy systems more reliable, efficient and accessible.
The Centres of Excellence for Agro-Ecology and Regenerative Agriculture would connect traditional knowledge with modern science, he said.
PM Modi said principles developed for community-based climate adaptation would make indigenous knowledge an important foundation for climate action.
He said these initiatives were part of BRICS’ effort to promote inclusive growth and make cooperation within the grouping relevant to countries beyond its membership.
The PM again stressed that solutions emerging from BRICS should be adaptable to the needs of the wider Global South rather than remaining confined to the bloc.
He said the growing confidence of Global South countries in BRICS was rooted in a sense of participation rather than one-way policymaking.
“Their voices are heard. Their experiences are respected. And solutions are developed not for them, but together with them,” PM Modi said.
He said the diversity of the grouping should remain central to its identity and cooperation should drive its future.
“May our diversity remain our identity, our cooperation become our inspiration, and our progress serve the cause of all humanity,” the PM said.
