Under India's presidency, we will work on redefining Brics, says Modi at summit

Hindustan Times

6 days ago

NEW DELHI: India's presidency of the Brics grouping next year will focus on building resilience and using innovation for sustainability while simultaneously giving priority to the issues of the Global South, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brics Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. In this image via PMO on July 7, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a session during the 17th annual BRICS Summit in Brazil. (PMO)
Addressing a session of the summit devoted to the environment and global health, Modi said India will adopt a people-centric approach to redefine Brics and widen the agenda of the grouping, just as it had done while chairing the G20 in 2023. The session was attended by leaders of the 10 member states of Brics, including Brazil, China, Indonesia and South Africa, and representatives of partner countries.
'Under India's Brics chairmanship, we will work on redefining Brics. Brics will mean 'Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability',' he said, speaking in Hindi. 'Just as during our presidency, we gave breadth to the G20 and gave priority to issues of the Global South in the agenda, similarly, during our presidency of Brics, we will take this forum forward in the spirit of people-centricity and humanity first.'
Modi's remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to slap additional tariffs on countries that align themselves with the policies of the Brics grouping. There was no official response from the Indian side to Trump's threat made in a social media post.
'Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,' Trump said, without specifying which policies he was referring to.
The leaders' declaration adopted at the Brics Summit on Sunday had — without directly referring to the US — said indiscriminate and unilateral tariffs are reducing global trade, disrupting supply chains and introducing uncertainty into international trade activities. The declaration had also condemned last month's military strikes against Iran.
Modi emphasised the need for collective global action to tackle pressing issues such as sustainable development and climate transition and highlighted the steps taken by India during its G20 presidency to tackle such matters.
'During India's G20 presidency, we had emphasised sustainable development and reducing the North-South gap,' he said pointing to the Green Development Pact and the Green Credits Initiative. 'For India, climate justice is not an option but a moral duty. India believes that without technology transfer and affordable financing to countries in need, climate action will remain limited to climate talks.'
Developed countries, Modi said, have a special responsibility in reducing the gap between climate ambition and financing. 'We have to take along all those countries which are facing food, fuel, fertiliser and financial crises due to various stresses…Sustainable and inclusive development of humanity is not possible without any kind of double standards,' he said.
Modi said the health of the planet and humans are interconnected and India has increased cooperation with all countries with the motto of 'One Earth, One Health'. He offered to share India's expertise in areas such as the world's largest insurance scheme or Ayushman Bharat and digital health services.
'The Covid pandemic has taught us that viruses do not come with visas and solutions are not chosen based on passports. Common challenges can only be solved through joint efforts,' he said. The Brics leaders' statement on a partnership for elimination of socially determined diseases, issued on Monday, will provide new impetus to strengthen cooperation on health.
Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing that India's presidency of Brics will be an opportunity to press for the reform of global institutions such as the UN Security Council. 'This is what everybody is saying…that [the voice of the] Global South…should be amplified and adequately captured in the multilateral discourse and decision-making,' he said.
India's presidency of Brics will also help put the issues of the Global South at the forefront of global discussions, Ravi said. 'We are already thinking about an agenda in terms of sustainability [and] resilience. These are again very important because in a disruptive world today, both in terms of trade…geopolitical tensions, the supply chain disruptions, you need to have resilience [and] sustainability,' he said.
'You will see a momentum and continuity in the way the Brics will evolve in terms of [taking] up the issues of the Global South,' Ravi said.