Piyush Goyal calls for deeper, resilient and more balanced Intra-BRICS trade

Addressing the opening session of the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, Goyal emphasised the need for greater market access, diversified supply chains and simpler regulatory procedures to unlock the full potential of economic cooperation among BRICS countries.

He expressed hope that the Forum would deliver significant outcomes and take economic dialogue and business partnerships among BRICS countries to the next level.

The opening session was also addressed by Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; Union Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar; Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada; and Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal.

Goyal said India is an important pillar of intra-BRICS trade and highlighted the country's strong capabilities in engineering goods and electronics, which account for the largest segment of India's manufactured exports.

He also noted that India is known as the "pharmacy of the world" and said the country sees BRICS as an important market for these and other products that India seeks to take to the world as a trusted partner.

Emphasising the importance of deep and resilient trade among partners, Goyal said supply chains must be diversified and trade should not become an impediment to growth and the well-being of people in any member state.

He called upon BRICS countries to open their markets to each other's products, including raw materials and critical minerals.

Goyal said supply chains would be resilient when they operate in both directions. Noting that non-tariff measures impose higher export costs than tariffs themselves for 88 per cent of countries, he called for easier and smoother market access.

He urged BRICS member and partner countries to open their markets while working together to simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate faster clearance of consignments.

Calling for greater cooperation in agriculture, Goyal urged BRICS countries to encourage agri-tech startups to jointly develop solutions for farmers across BRICS nations in the interest of food security.

He also called upon countries to open their services markets to each other in a meaningful manner, facilitate the movement of professionals across borders and make it easier to recognise each other's professional qualifications.

Highlighting women's participation in India's startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem, Goyal said more than 45 per cent of the 250,000 recognised startups in India have at least one woman partner or director.

He said two-thirds of the small loans provided over the last decade have been given to women entrepreneurs, helping them become financially independent and self-reliant.

Referring to the meeting of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance in New Delhi earlier this week, Goyal said he had urged the Alliance to ensure that women-led enterprises participate in every BRICS exhibition, trade fair and other opportunities that could be encouraged and supported.

Goyal also highlighted India's significant initiatives in developing digital public infrastructure and said the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now facilitates more than 250 billion transactions annually, accounting for more than half of the world's transactions by volume.

He said UPI is also accepted in 11 countries and urged BRICS member and partner countries to link their payment systems, promote trade in each other's local currencies, make digital trade global and work together on emerging technologies.

He said India has strong capabilities across sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, engineering, electronics, automobiles and auto components, and services, and called for greater integration among startup ecosystems.

According to Goyal, these trends offer significant scope for joint innovation, technology partnerships and the development of resilient global value chains.

As India moves towards Viksit Bharat 2047 — the collective goal of 1.4 billion Indians to transform the country into a developed nation by the time it celebrates 100 years of independence — Goyal said there is immense potential to deepen cooperation with BRICS member and partner countries.

He expressed hope that the thematic sessions would lead to constructive and actionable recommendations to further strengthen intra-BRICS trade and economic cooperation.

Union Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, in his address, said this year marks 20 years of institutionalised BRICS cooperation, during which the grouping has evolved substantially in terms of membership, agenda and mechanisms of cooperation.

He said India's Chairship has sought to carry this evolution forward through the theme of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.

These priorities, he said, are especially relevant as the global political and economic order undergoes significant change, with volatility, uncertainty and complexity becoming defining features, while geopolitical conflicts, pandemics, climate-related disruptions, digitisation and technological advances continue to reshape the economic landscape.

Jaishankar said resilience has become a key component of the BRICS community, with the BRICS Business Council and BRICS Women's Business Alliance playing an important role in bringing industry, entrepreneurs and business leaders into the BRICS process.

He said supply chain connectivity and trade facilitation have emerged as crucial areas of cooperation, alongside services, agriculture and agritech, digital delivery, MSMEs, startups and women-led enterprises.

He stressed the need for greater self-reliance while remaining connected and competitive through genuine market practices, dependable logistics, a predictable business environment, diversified commercial relationships and transparent trade and investment.

Jaishankar also highlighted digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, fintech and advanced manufacturing as major areas of opportunity, while noting the importance of addressing questions of access, standards, security and trust.

He said India's Chairship has sought to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem through the BRICS incubator network and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, stressing that the benefits must be accessible across the full spectrum of business communities.

He said India's experience makes it a natural partner, with a large and growing market, expanding manufacturing capabilities, deeper pools of talent, digital experience and a dynamic innovation and entrepreneurial base.

As BRICS leaders prepare to meet, Jaishankar said the Forum's most useful contribution would be to bring a clear business perspective to the next phase of BRICS cooperation, focusing on opportunities, challenges faced by businesses and measures governments can take to address them.

Speaking at the opening session, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada highlighted that the BRICS Business Forum provides an opportunity to convert the strength of BRICS economies into concrete commercial results.

He identified digital services, particularly artificial intelligence, as an important area of collaboration, noting their potential to improve productivity, living standards, incomes and outcomes for individuals and MSMEs, while ensuring access to computing resources, particularly in the Global South.

Prasada stressed the need for greater technology exchange and cooperation in AI while keeping the United Nations at the centre of global governance.

On semiconductors, he highlighted India's Semiconductor Mission 2.0, with a financial outlay of about USD 13 billion in incentives, and called for collaboration to develop the entire semiconductor ecosystem.

He also highlighted digital public infrastructure and data centres as areas for cooperation, including the sharing of India's best practices. He called upon BRICS countries to co-develop, co-invest and co-innovate, while allocating greater resources to research and development and startups to enable young people to access international markets.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said BRICS represents a significant and growing market, with trade among BRICS countries rising from USD 84 billion in 2003 to nearly USD 1.2 trillion in 2024.

He emphasised the need to preserve and revitalise the multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, while supporting MSMEs through affordable working capital. He said the Jaipur Consensus provides a foundation for exploring a common BRICS mechanism in this regard.

Agrawal highlighted the need to strengthen global value chains through BRICS Connect, business-to-business partnerships, an annual BRICS Trade and Investment Expo, digital trade documentation and greater sectoral cooperation, including in healthcare.

He called for stronger economic integration under the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy 2030 through cooperation, trust, innovation and shared prosperity.