BRICS Summit: PM Modi suggests areas for cooperation among member nations

Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday put forward multiple areas — such as the space sector, traditional medicine and technology — for cooperation between the BRICS member nations.

He also affirmed confidence that the BRICS nations will support New Delhi’s initiative of including the African Union in G20 at the summit next month.

Addressing the open plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit, PM Modi said, “To give a new direction to the BRICS agenda, India put forward suggestions like Railway Research network, close cooperation between MSMEs and online BRICS database start-up forum. To further enhance our close cooperation, I would like to put forward some suggestions”.

PM Modi put forward the suggestion of cooperating in the direction space sector, education, skill development and technology
“First, cooperation in the space sector. We have already been working on the BRICS Satellite, and now taking a step forward, we should think on the BRICS Space Exploration Consortium. Under this, we can work on issues like space research, weather monitoring, and work for the greater good,” the Prime Minister said.

He added, “My second suggestion is cooperation on education, skill development and technology. To make the grouping a future-ready organisation, we will have to make the societies future-ready. Technology will play an important role in these endeavours.”

The Prime Minister also highlighted the digital platforms being used in India to provide education to children in rural areas and to remove language barriers.

“In India, to provide education to the children living in rural areas, DIKSHA- ‘Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing’ Platform has been developed. Along with that, to boost innovation amongst school students, we have established 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs," he said.

PM Modi added, “AI-based language platform — Bhashini — has been brought to remove language barriers. The CoWIN platform was created for vaccination. Digital public infrastructure, i.e. through ‘India Stack’, public service delivery has been revolutionized. Diversity is the biggest strength of India. Diversity brings the solution for every problem that India faces. So these solutions can be easily implemented in any part of the world. India will be very happy to share these technologies developed in India with other BRICS partners”.

He further suggested cooperating in the areas of Skill Mapping, Big Cats and traditional medicine.
“My third suggestion is bringing up ‘Skill Mapping’ to identify each other’s strengths and play a part in each other’s development. My fourth suggestion is ‘Big Cats’. In all five BRICS nations, different varieties of Big Cats are found. Under the ‘International Big Cat Alliance’, we can work together for their protection. My fifth suggestion is regarding traditional medicine. There is an ecosystem of traditional medicine in all these countries. Can we build a repository of traditional medicine together?” PM Modi further stated.

The Prime Minister added that India has also proposed the inclusion of the African Union in G20 and affirmed confidence that the BRICS nations will support the idea at the forum.
“In 2016, under India’s presidency, we had described BRICS as ‘Building Responsive Inclusive and Collective Solutions’. Now seven years later, we can say that BRICS will be breaking barriers, revitalizing economies, inspiring innovation, creating opportunities and shaping the future,” PM Modi added.

PM Modi lauded South Africa for the initiative as the chair of the BRICS summit and stated that India has also given a lot of importance to the countries of Global South under its G20 Presidency

“We welcome the move to give special importance to the countries of the Global South in BRICS under the chairmanship of South Africa. This is not just the aspiration, but also the need of the present times. India has also given importance to this subject under its G20 presidency. One Earth One Family One Future - we are trying to move forward with all countries on this mantra. In the Voice of Global South summit in January this year, 125 countries participated and shared their concerns and priorities,” he said.

Earlier, PM Modi also remembered Mahatma Gandhi and his connection with South Africa and the historical connections between the two countries.
“I thank President Ramaphosa for the grand reception. To come to a beautiful city like Johannesburg once again is a matter of joy for me and my delegation. This city has an old and deep connection with the Indians and Indian history”.

He added, “At a distance from here is located Tolstoy Farm, the construction of which was done by Mahatma Gandhi 110 years back. By connecting the great ideas of India, Eurasia and Africa, Mahatma Gandhi placed a strong foundation of our unity and harmony."

Prime Minister Modi said that BRICS has undertaken a long and magnificent journey in the last two decades and several initiatives are benefitting the people of the member nations.

“In the last two decades, BRICS has undertaken a long and magnificent journey. In this journey, we made numerous achievements. Our New Development Bank is playing a crucial role in the development of countries of the Global South. Through Contingencies Reserve Management, we have created a financial safety net. BRICS Constellation, Vaccine R&D Centre, primary recognition to pharma products. We are bringing positive changes in the lives of people of BRICS countries through these steps,” PM Modi said. 

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Other than PM Modi, Xi Jinping and Ramaphosa, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Brazil President Lula da Silva were also present in the BRICS summit.
Earlier on Tuesday, the opening day of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg was witness to the BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Dialogue.

In his address at the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue, PM Modi said India will soon be a 5 trillion dollar economy and in the coming years will be the growth engine of the world.
PM Modi’s special message to the dialogue was that mutual trust and transparency can help create a big impact, especially in the Global South. This is the first in-person BRICS Summit after three consecutive years of virtual meetings owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)