Our Bureau
Rio de Janeiro
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 17th BRICS Summit being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 6-7 July 2025, a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The leaders held productive discussions on various issues on the BRICS agenda, including reform of global governance, enhancing the voice of the global south, peace and security, strengthening multilateralism, development issues and Artificial Intelligence.
Prime Minister Modi thanked the President of Brazil for his warm hospitality and the successful organisation of the Summit, as per the statement.
PM Modi addressed the inaugural session on “Reform of Global Governance and Peace and Security”. Later in the day, the Prime Minister also addressed a session on “Strengthening Multilateral, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence. This session included participation by BRICS Partner and invited countries.
Addressing the session on Global Governance and Peace and Security, the Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to enhancing the voice of the Global South. He noted that developing countries required greater support for sustainable development, in terms of access to climate finance and technology. Highlighting that the global organisations of the 20th century could not deal with the challenges of the 21st century, he underscored the need for reforming them.
Calling for a multipolar and inclusive world order, the Prime Minister stated that global governance institutions such as the UN Security Council, the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO must undergo urgent reform to reflect contemporary realities. He thanked the leaders for highlighting the urgency of UN Security Council reform and adopting a strong language on the issue in the Summit Declaration.
On Peace and Security, the Prime Minister underlined that terrorism was a grave threat facing humanity. In this context, he noted that the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 was not just an attack on India, but an onslaught on all of humanity.
Calling for strong global action against terrorism, the Prime Minister noted that those funding, promoting or providing safe havens to terrorists must be dealt with in the harshest terms. He emphasised that there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism. He thanked the BRICS leaders for condemning the Pahalgam terror attack in the strongest terms. Calling upon the BRICS countries to strengthen the global fight against terrorism, he emphasised that there should be zero tolerance in dealing with the menace, as per the statement.
Further elaborating on the subject, the Prime Minister noted that conflicts, from West Asia to Europe, were a matter of deep concern. He further added that India has always called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve such conflicts and was ready to contribute towards such efforts.
Addressing the session on “Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence”, the Prime Minister expressed that diversity and multipolarity were valued strengths of the BRICS.
He stated that at a time when the world order was under pressure and the global community was facing uncertainty and challenges, the relevance of BRICS was evident.
He further added that BRICS could play an important role in shaping a multipolar world. In this regard, he offered four suggestions: one, the BRICS New Development Bank must follow demand driven principle and long-term sustainability for granting projects; two, the group consider setting up a Science and Research repository which could benefit the global south countries; three, focus must be given to make the supply chain of critical minerals secured and resilient; and, four, the group should work for responsible AI – while looking into the concerns of AI governance, it should also give equal importance to promoting innovation in the field, the statement said.
After the Leaders’ Session, the member countries adopted the ‘Rio de Janeiro Declaration’.
The leaders’ joint statement, issued after the 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, resonates with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s views in very broad terms, including the condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, MEA Secretary Dammu Ravi said.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday (local time) the MEA Secretary (Economic Relations) said the BRICS group of countries have extended their strong support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), which has been India’s intitiative in the United Nations.
The treaty proposed by India within the UN framework aims to provide a comprehensive legal basis for combating terrorism. It aims to define and criminalize various terrorist actions, ensuring that individuals who commit these acts can be prosecuted or extradited.
