Modi warns against weaponisation of technology and critical minerals at BRICS summit
At the BRICS summit, PM Modi flagged the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals and outlined India's four-pillar agenda for the grouping.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told a gathering of BRICS leaders that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals poses a serious risk to shared progress and prosperity, warning that such trends could undermine the gains the grouping seeks to deliver.
Addressing the summit in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Mr. Modi said rising geopolitical tensions were exacting a heavy toll on ordinary people worldwide.
He noted that pandemics, climate disasters and disruptions to supply chains had shown that no crisis stays confined to one region in an interconnected world. BRICS, he said, must therefore come together to tackle these pressures and pursue inclusive growth, especially for the Global South, whose confidence in the grouping has grown.
Mr. Modi said India's presidency had concentrated on four pillars — resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability — and that these efforts had turned a shared vision into a mutually beneficial outcome.
On resilience, he said consensus had been reached on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases, with guidelines also framed for an early warning data integration mechanism. A BRICS logistics supply chain cooperation framework, he added, would make supply chains more dependable.
Under innovation, he pointed to a BRICS incubator network that will link startups and incubators across member countries. He stressed the need to spot emerging challenges early, stay prepared and act without delay.