Modi calls for BRICS reform roadmap, stronger institutional continuity at 20th anniversary summit
New Delhi, Sep 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a more effective and institutionally stronger BRICS, proposing a mechanism to ensure continuity in the grouping’s work and a roadmap for reforming global governance institutions to give the Global South a greater voice in decision-making.
Addressing the opening session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12, Modi said India’s chairship had followed a “people-centric and humanity-first” approach, with resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability identified as its key priorities. He said more than 350 meetings had been organised across nearly 30 Indian cities during the year-long chairship, bringing BRICS cooperation closer to ordinary people.
The Prime Minister said the summit marked a significant milestone as BRICS completed 20 years, describing the grouping as being at a “coming of age” moment. Over the past two decades, he said, BRICS had established a distinct identity on the global stage by respecting different perspectives and advancing through consensus.
Modi said the next phase should focus on converting that unity and consensus into concrete outcomes internationally. He proposed the creation of a BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism, to operate through the grouping’s Troika and ensure systematic follow-up of decisions and initiatives despite the annual rotation of the chairship.
He also suggested creating a secure digital repository to record each BRICS decision, along with the designated nodal agency, implementation timeline and progress status.
Turning to global governance, Modi argued that the existing international system remained structured like a “pyramid”, with power and decision-making concentrated at the top while countries most affected by global decisions often had limited influence over their formulation.
He called for replacing what he described as a “pyramid of privilege” with a “platform of partnership”, where every country has a voice and stake in shaping global outcomes.
Modi proposed that BRICS formulate 10 proposals for global governance reform, with the objective of developing them into a BRICS Reform Roadmap by the next summit. He identified three broad principles for the exercise – representation, responsiveness and rule-making.
On representation, Modi said reform of the UN Security Council could no longer be delayed and called for text-based negotiations to be linked to a defined timeline and tangible outcomes. He also argued that international financial institutions should better reflect contemporary economic realities, including in voting rights, leadership positions and policy priorities.
On responsiveness, the Prime Minister said global institutions would retain public trust only if they could deliver effective and timely solutions to international challenges. He proposed the creation of a Seafarers Emergency Support Network, linking maritime authorities and diplomatic missions of relevant countries to facilitate distress alerts, medical assistance, communication with families and evacuation support for seafarers facing emergencies.
Modi also stressed the need for greater participation by developing countries in shaping rules governing emerging technologies. He identified artificial intelligence, cyberspace, outer space, biotechnology and other critical technologies as areas where rules with long-term global consequences were being shaped.
He proposed using BRICS to provide young diplomats and policymakers from the Global South with negotiation skills, practical training and legal expertise so that developing countries could move from being “rule-takers” to “rule-shapers”.
Highlighting the coincidence of the summit with the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, Modi said the occasion underscored the importance of strengthening the voice of developing countries and declared that India was prepared to take the lead in advancing the initiative.
“The message of the BRICS Summit being hosted by India should be loud and clear: If our future is shared, then the right to shape that future must also be shared,” Modi said, outlining the guiding principle for BRICS at 20 as a movement “from voice to impact” and “from privilege to partnership”.
