Local Currency Trade, Sea Lanes in Focus at BRICS Meet; Modi Calls for Secure Trade Routes
The PM said despite a setback on the world economy due to conflicts, along with instability and uncertainty, India continues to witness growth.
New Delhi: Increasing global trade, shift toward local currencies in BRICS trade and greater collaborations among the grouping partners was the focus area of conversation at the BRICS Business Forum on Friday.
Speaking at the Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for securing sea lanes, safety of seafarers and keeping supply routes open in order to increase global trade. He called the global leaders to “Make in India, Innovate with India, and Scale for the World.”
The PM said despite a setback on the world economy due to conflicts, along with instability and uncertainty, India continues to witness growth. “India today offers a source of confidence for growth and stability," he said.
Amid the growing disruptions to maritime trade and supply chains due to West Asia conflicts, the PM also stressed that freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers are critical to the global economy. "Safe and resilient supply chains were essential for global trade and reiterated India's strong support for freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers," he said. Mr Modi also highlighted the growing role of BRICS countries as hubs of innovation, saying new solutions were emerging across areas ranging from grassroots initiatives to frontier technologies.
"There is a greater collective action from the grouping and let us turn BRICS’ ambition into action and collective strength into global solutions. Let BRICS move forward, and take the world forward too," Mr Modi said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin got a rousing welcome from the audience as he came to the stage for his address. While asserting that BRICS remained open to cooperation with the wider world, Mr Putin said "We are not against anyone. We are in favour of our interests."
He added dynamic domestic markets in BRICS countries underpin the group’s success. Referring to some big corporates globally, the Russian leader said, “India’s Tech Mahindra offers effective digital platform solutions, including those powered by artificial intelligence, while China’s Huawei is a global technology giant. Brazil’s Embraer holds a strong position in the aerospace industry, he noted. The UAE’s DP World operates efficiently in logistics, while Russia’s Rosatom is the recognized number one in peaceful nuclear energy. There are many such corporate success stories in our countries. Hard work amid fierce competition lies behind each of them.”
Elaborating details about the cooperation with its partners on investment and other fronts including India, Mr Putin further said that Russia was ready to work with partners on infrastructure and logistics projects, including the Arctic Transport Corridor and North-South Transport Corridor, as well as cooperation in technology, artificial intelligence, unmanned transport, finance, tourism and industry.
At the forum, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also called for a stronger shift toward local currencies in BRICS trade, while pitching Iran's geography, energy resources and transport links as a strategic bridge for the bloc's economic connectivity.