PM Modi pushes BRICS to tear down trade barriers, backs freedom of navigation and seafarers’ safety

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for BRICS to turn its growing economic weight into greater investment and expanded business ties, stressing that freedom of navigation, secure sea lanes and the safety of seafarers were essential to keeping global trade running.

Addressing the BRICS Business Forum in India, Modi urged the grouping to identify and remove its top 10 trade barriers, scale 100 BRICS startups into other member markets every year and build 1,000 new business partnerships annually.

The grouping, he said, should convert its growing economic weight into concrete opportunities for businesses, positioning India as a country building “economic bridges” at a time when trade barriers are rising globally.

“Global trade can only progress if sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open, and seafarers are safe. Therefore, India is a staunch supporter of freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers,” he said.

The remarks came amid wars in two theatres and geopolitical conflicts disrupting energy and other trade through vital sea lanes, raising prices and disrupting supply chains. Indian ships have been attacked during the US-Iran conflict and the country’s seafarers have been abducted by pirates.

Modi highlighted the scale of the expanded BRICS grouping, saying member-countries and partners now represent around half of the world’s population, 40 per cent of global GDP and more than a quarter of global trade. Over the past two decades, he said, the combined GDP of BRICS economies expanded around four-and-a-half times, compared with a roughly two-and-a-half-fold increase in global GDP.

Modi placed infrastructure and strategic technologies at the centre of India’s pitch to global businesses, pointing to rapid expansion of roads, railways, ports and airports alongside new capacity in shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals and biotechnology.

“Make in India, Innovate with India, and Scale for the World,” Modi said, presenting India as both a manufacturing base and a source of technology and innovation for global markets.

He also sought to use India’s digital public infrastructure as a platform for deeper BRICS cooperation. Modi highlighted UPI’s population-scale deployment and said BRICS innovators could draw on India’s experience to develop digital solutions suited to their own markets.

The Prime Minister pointed to more than 200,000 startups and over 120 unicorns in India, saying BRICS should help take such innovations to global markets. Initiatives under India’s chairship include the BRICS incubator network, BRICS MSME portal and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, alongside new cooperation networks in agriculture, health care, skills and smart grids.

Trade connectivity was another central theme. Modi said India had pursued free-trade agreements with nearly 40 countries since 2014 and argued that BRICS should similarly focus on reducing barriers and expanding opportunities for businesses.

He also stressed the importance of secure sea lanes and open supply routes for global trade, reaffirming India’s support for freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers.

Looking ahead, Modi challenged the BRICS Business Council to establish measurable targets rather than limit itself to dialogue: identify the bloc’s top 10 trade barriers for removal, support 100 BRICS startups each year in expanding into other member markets, and create 1,000 new business partnerships annually.

“We must review our progress on these three parameters every year,” he said.

The pitch came as India seeks to make its BRICS chairship centred not only on the bloc’s economic weight, but on turning that weight into trade, investment, technology and business activity across member economies.

When it comes to resilience, Modi said, India has made its supply chains - spanning sectors from energy to technology - more diversified and reliable. It is a result of this very resilience that, even amidst global uncertainties, India today offers an assurance of growth and stability, he added.

At a time when trade barriers are rising globally, India is building economic bridges, he said, adding that since 2014 India has entered into free trade agreements with nearly 40 countries.

“Our approach within BRICS is the same: to reduce barriers and expand opportunities for businesses,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that India is rapidly expanding roads, railways, ports, and airports.

“Simultaneously, we are building new capabilities in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals, and biotechnology. In these areas, India is emerging as a hub of new opportunities for global businesses,” he said.

Modi said with over 200,000 startups and more than 120 unicorns, India is emerging as a hub for global solutions.

“Our startups are transforming education and health care through AI, working on Green Hydrogen and batteries, and breaking new ground in the defence and space sectors. Now, we must take these world-class innovations to global markets through BRICS as well,” he said.

On the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), he said at present 50 per cent of the world’s real-time payments take place using this technology.

“We have provided an open ecosystem to the industry and startups to develop new solutions on this digital layer. We are proud that many countries are adopting this world-class ecosystem from India. Innovators from BRICS nations can also leverage this experience to create new solutions for their own countries,” he said.