New Delhi, Sep 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned on Sunday that the “weaponisation” of technology and critical minerals could hinder shared prosperity, urging BRICS to rise through cooperation even as its leaders unveiled mega plans, including an open-source AI ecosystem to assist the Global South.
In his address at the concluding session of the BRICS summit hosted by India, the prime minister flagged concerns over growing global conflicts and called on the member nations to work together to protect ordinary citizens from their fallout and strengthen collective resilience against future challenges.
The annual summit of BRICS, a grouping of 11 major emerging economies representing around 49.5 per cent of the world’s population and 40 per cent of global GDP, concluded with key outcomes in logistics supply chains, startups and infectious disease control, with its member nations calling for a better global governance and trading architecture to navigate current challenges.
The summit, held in the backdrop of a fractious geopolitical and geo-economic environment, was seen as successful with India pulling off a diplomatic victory by managing to produce a consensus joint declaration after overcoming sharp differences between the United Arab Emirates and Tehran regarding the West Asia conflict.
In his remarks, Modi said that developing nations in the Global South increasingly trust BRICS because their voices are heard, their experiences are valued and solutions are created in partnership with them rather than imposed on them.
Delving into pressing challenges facing the world, Modi said the “weaponisation of technology and critical minerals can hinder our shared progress. Therefore, we have emphasised inclusivity in the adoption of technology.”
His remarks assumed significance as they came amid growing global concerns over China’s restrictive policy on exports of critical minerals.
“We may be rooted in different realities, but together, we rise through cooperation and blossom for humanity. May our diversity be our identity, our cooperation our inspiration, and our progress serve all of humanity,” Modi said.
In his address, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will lead the creation of an open-source AI ecosystem for BRICS member nations as part of a five-point initiative to boost cooperation in technology, manufacturing and trade.
Xi also said that BRICS should leverage its close ties with emerging markets and the Global South to safeguard supply chains and build a large integrated market.
However, what drew major attention was Xi’s announcement on the open-source AI ecosystem as it is widely seen as an effort to position Beijing as a central technology partner for BRICS amid the communist state’s growing AI competition with the US.
Elaborating on the open-source AI proposal, Xi said: “China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS AI open-source community, support cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialised AI seminars and training courses, and build an open ecosystem for AI.”
China will host the next BRICS summit.
The five-point initiative, Xi added, is aimed at boosting cooperation in manufacturing, trade, and technology across member states.
The Chinese president said the Global South should jointly “defend” the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of global relations, including sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, and work towards peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his part, proposed a new insurance mechanism and a collaborative initiative for the grain market among the BRICS nations as he called upon the grouping to adopt a holistic approach in combating pressing global challenges.
Putin proposed the new initiatives for economic growth among the BRICS member nations as well as the Global South nations at a time of crippling sanctions imposed by Western powers on Moscow for its war on Ukraine.
The G-7 countries, the European Union, and the UK prohibited Western companies from insuring any ship transporting Russian crude unless the oil was purchased at or below a specified price cap. The sanctions relating to the insurance sector have adversely impacted Russian crude oil exports.
The Russian president also pitched the setting up of a dedicated platform for economic growth with BRICS.
Besides the BRICS leaders, the final day’s session at the summit was attended by leaders from the bloc’s partner states and from the countries invited by India.
In his comments, PM Modi highlighted how the increasing resilience of BRICS nations is important to navigate the current geopolitical environment and that New Delhi’s chairship of the grouping was focused on four pillars: resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.
Building on these four pillars, through BRICS, India sought to promote inclusive global growth as it believes that the benefits of solutions developed within the bloc should not remain confined to it alone and they should be made adaptable and accessible to meet the needs of the Global South.
“I am pleased that, with all your cooperation and support, we have been able to translate our shared vision into win-win cooperation,” he said.
“Today, the number of conflicts and tensions in the world is continuously increasing, and this is having an increasingly negative and far-reaching impact on the lives of ordinary people.”
“Pandemics, climate disasters, and supply-chain disruptions have shown that in today’s interconnected world, no crisis remains confined to a single region. Therefore, within the BRICS group, we have placed special emphasis on strengthening resilience,” he added.
Modi argued that it is “equally important to identify challenges in time, be prepared for them, and take prompt action.”
“With this approach, we have agreed on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases. Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines have been prepared for disaster management,” he said.
Modi said the BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework will help make supply chains more reliable and resilient.
“Under Innovation, the BRICS Incubator Network will connect our start-ups and incubators with one another. To promote innovative and scalable solutions, we have proposed the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund,” he said.
The BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture will create new opportunities for farmers as through this initiative, AI, geospatial technology and digital public infrastructure will be connected to the needs of farmers.
The prime minister also elaborated on India’s approach towards BRICS saying it has advanced friendship, partnership and cooperation through various platforms of the bloc.
“Our endeavour has been to ensure that BRICS cooperation does not remain limited to governments alone. We have sought to make our entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth and ordinary citizens active participants in it,” he said.
“Through BRICS CONNECT, we have promoted skills, employability, women in the workforce, social security, and capacity building. To connect small enterprises with knowledge, finance, and new markets, we have initiated the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal,” he added.
Modi said the BRICS Urban Mobility Hub has been established to facilitate the sharing of best practices among our cities.
“In Indian civilisation, nature has been accorded the status of a mother. For centuries, we have believed that development and the environment are not alternatives to each other, but are complementary,” he said.
“Within BRICS as well, we have emphasised the need to strike a balance between human development and the environment,” he added.
“This is the foundation of Sustainability. It is also our responsibility towards future generations. In this direction, we have made progress on several fronts,” he noted.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year. (PTI)
