India Source of Global Growth Amid Instability, Says PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday emphasised India’s growing role in the global economy, saying the country is witnessing growth even as the world faces instability and uncertainty. “India is growing when the world is going through instability. India today offers a source of confidence for growth and stability," he said while addressing the BRICS Business Forum here.

Amid the growing disruptions to maritime trade and supply chains due to West Asia conflicts, the Prime Minister 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.

On the role of BRICS in the changing global economy, Modi also said that BRICS are becoming important centres for global innovations and solutions. "There is a greater collective action from the grouping and let’s turn BRICS’ ambition into action and collective strength into global solutions. Let BRICS move forward, and take the world forward too," he said.

Meanwhile, Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin also reviewed the progress of India-Russia cooperation across political, economic, defence, energy, space, skill mobility and people-to-people ties. They also discussed key regional and global issues, including the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region, which have affected maritime trade and the safety of Indian seafarers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‌had agreed to further strengthen the special relationship between their countries in talks that ranged over areas including energy and defence. New Delhi is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act as it tries to maintain strong ties with the US, Gulf Arab states, Russia, Iran and Israel, while suffering the impact of shipping and trade disruptions due to the Ukraine and Iran wars.

However, Russian President Putin got a rousing welcome from the audience in Delhi at BRICS business forum in the Indian capital as he came to the stage for his address. "Dynamic domestic markets in BRICS countries underpin the group’s success. BRICS countries, home to about half the world’s population, have vast, dynamic domestic markets. Cities in our countries are developing rapidly and growing, urbanization is proceeding swiftly, and national companies are increasingly making their mark as global players," Putin said at the Summit.

Referring to some big corporates globally in the summit, the Russian leader also said that 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," Putin concluded.

The Prime Minister 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. "BRICS countries now account for 50 per cent of the world's population, 40 per cent of global GDP and more than 25 percent of global trade, making the bloc an increasingly important part of the global economy," Modi said.

Calling the forum, hosted by India, the largest BRICS Business Forum to date, Modi said the grouping's growing scale and economic strength created new opportunities for cooperation. "For greater investment, talent exchange and stronger business partnerships among BRICS countries, India needs the business community to turn the bloc's growing economic strength into practical global solutions," the PM Modi said.

Elaborating details about the cooperation with its partners on investment and other fronts including India, 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.

"We are not against anyone. We are in favour of our interests," while asserting that BRICS remained open to cooperation with the wider world. The proposed NDB-based investment platform would seek to mobilise private-sector funding and make BRICS economies more competitive. I hope that other BRICS members would support the initiative. We need funding," Putin said, adding that the NDB was already doing significant work but could provide the basis for a broader investment mechanism," Putin said.

At the same time, Modi also said that new possibilities for innovation, spanning everything from grassroots initiatives to frontier technologies, are taking shape within our countries. "The growing scale, speed, and optimism of BRICS are clearly evident among us. This forum, hosted in India, is the largest BRICS Business Forum to date," the PM said.

At the forum, meanwhile 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. "BRICS must move beyond its economic potential and build a more integrated network of trade, investment and joint financing," Pezeshkian said.

The Iranian President, however, argued that greater use of national currencies, backed by mechanisms to manage currency risks and reciprocal settlements, would make intra-BRICS trade less vulnerable to political shocks. He also said that Iran has a potential link in BRICS energy, food and transport supply chains, citing its geographical location and energy reserves. "There should be a deeper integration of trade infrastructure, including digitalised customs procedures, reduced regulatory barriers and stronger cross-border markets," he said.

Pezeshkian further urged the New Development Bank to become a principal financing engine for BRICS infrastructure and energy projects, including through local-currency lending and guarantees capable of attracting private capital. "A BRICS joint reinsurance company with an initial capital of 10 billion US dollars to cover major infrastructure and energy projects and boost private-sector confidence," he said.