Says BRICS must help Global South become ‘rule-shapers’
New Delhi, Sep 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday proposed the creation of a “Seafarers Emergency Support Network” under BRICS to assist sailors facing difficulties amid global and regional crises.
Addressing the 18th BRICS Summit session on ‘Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening’, Modi said seafarers make a significant contribution to global trade but often lack adequate support during times of difficulty.
He said the proposed network could connect maritime authorities and missions of concerned countries and facilitate distress alerts, medical assistance, communication with families and evacuation support.
The Prime Minister said the initiative should form part of a broader effort to make global institutions more responsive to the challenges faced by people.
“Global institutions will earn the trust of humanity only when they are able to provide effective solutions to global challenges,” he said, stressing the need to focus on the speed, scale and last-mile impact of collective responses.
Modi also called for a greater role for the Global South in framing global rules, saying countries of the region should move from being “rule-takers” to “rule-shapers”.
He said artificial intelligence, cyberspace, outer space, biotechnology and critical technologies were shaping not only future opportunities but also the rules governing the future.
Through BRICS, he proposed providing young diplomats and policymakers from Global South countries with negotiation skills, practical training and legal expertise.
The Prime Minister also called for reform of the UN Security Council, saying it could no longer be delayed. He said text-based negotiations should be linked to a clearly defined timeline and concrete outcomes.
He further proposed reforms in international financial institutions so that voting power, leadership positions and policy priorities reflect current economic realities.
Marking BRICS’ 20th anniversary, Modi said the grouping had established a distinct identity on the global stage and now needed to translate its unity and consensus into concrete outcomes.
He proposed a BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism through the Troika, along with a secure digital repository to track decisions, timelines and implementation status.
India’s BRICS Chairship, he said, was guided by a people-centric and humanity-first approach, with resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability as key priorities. “If our future is shared, then the right to shape that future must also be shared,” Modi said, describing the BRICS resolve as a shift “from voice to impact” and “from privilege to partnership”.
