Modi Flags Seafarer Safety at BRICS Forum, Touts Bloc's Economic Rise
At the BRICS Business Forum, PM Modi stressed seafarer safety and freedom of navigation, while Putin and Pezeshkian flagged global economic shifts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the BRICS Business Forum to flag a concern weighing on Indian seafarers, linking the progress of global trade to the safety of shipping routes and those who work on them.
In remarks that appeared to reference recent attacks on vessels linked to India, chiefly around the Strait of Hormuz, Modi said trade can advance only when sea lanes remain secure, supply routes stay open and seafarers are protected. He described India as a firm backer of freedom of navigation and the safety of those at sea.
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a flashpoint in tensions between the United States and Iran.
Turning to the bloc's economic weight, Modi said BRICS countries account for half the world's population, about 40 per cent of global GDP and more than a quarter of world trade. While global GDP has grown roughly two-and-a-half times over the years, the combined GDP of BRICS nations has expanded nearly four-and-a-half-fold, he said, describing the grouping's economic strength as growing at close to twice the pace of the rest of the world.
He added that BRICS members are becoming hubs for innovation, from grassroots efforts to frontier technologies, and noted that the forum hosted in India is the largest BRICS Business Forum so far.
On trade, Modi said India's approach centres on lowering barriers and widening opportunities, and that New Delhi has concluded free trade agreements with 40 countries. Under India's BRICS presidency, he said, new cooperation networks have been set up in agriculture, health, skills and smart grids, alongside initiatives such as the BRICS Incubator Network, the BRICS MSME Portal and the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to connect startups and small enterprises with markets and finance.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose country has been engaged in a protracted conflict with the United States, pointed to geopolitical uncertainty and supply chain disruptions as forces complicating the global economy. He said the increasing use of economic tools to apply political pressure has made the environment harder for countries, and argued that BRICS' real strength lies in turning members' capacities into a network of trade, investment and joint financing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of deep structural shifts in the world economy, saying the old engines of growth are being replaced by new ones.
On the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Modi held separate bilateral meetings with Putin and Pezeshkian. In his talks with Putin, the Prime Minister discussed the war in the Middle East and conflicts in the Black Sea region, and said dialogue and diplomacy remain the only way forward in resolving conflicts.