BRICS Summit: Weaponisation of tech, critical minerals could hinder shared progress, warns Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday warned that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals could become a hurdle to shared progress and called on BRICS countries to ensure inclusive access to technology while pursuing growth that balances development with environmental sustainability.

“The weaponisation of technology and critical minerals can become a hurdle in our shared progress. Therefore, we have emphasised inclusivity in technology adoption,” Modi said at the session on “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth” on the concluding day of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

The remarks assume significance as China’s periodic export restrictions on critical minerals and related technologies have raised concerns over supply-chain vulnerabilities and economic coercion. Chinese President Xi Jingping, who visited India after seven years, was also at the session, with other leaders and representatives from the bloc, partner countries and outreach countries.

Modi-Xi talks: Border peace, trade imbalance key to India-China reset Xi’s meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit on Saturday has increased expectations of solutions being reached on various concerns on trade and investments from both sides, including assured supplies of rare earth elements and magnets, but border tensions remain a challenge.

Reaching out to all countries present, Modi said the grouping needed to strengthen resilience and ensure that the benefits of solutions developed within BRICS were also adaptable and accessible to countries of the Global South.

The PM observed that the trust of Global South countries in BRICS had grown over time. “Because their voices are heard in BRICS, their experiences are respected, and solutions are made not just for them, but together with them,” he said.

Outlining new initiatives, Modi said consensus had been reached on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for infectious diseases, and that early warning data integration guidelines had been prepared for disaster management.

“The BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework will help make our supply chains more reliable and resilient,” he said. On innovation, Modi pointed out, the ‘BRICS Incubator Network' will connect startups and incubators with each other.

“To promote innovative and scalable solutions, we have proposed the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund,” he added Stressing the need to make farming high-tech, the PM noted that the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture will create new possibilities for farmers, through which AI, geo-spatial technology, and digital public infrastructure will be connected with the real needs of farmers, the PM added.

BRICS cooperation should not be limited only to governments, Modi said. “Our entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth, and ordinary citizens should also become its active participants”. He cited BRICS Connect, the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal, and the BRICS Urban Mobility Hub, saying the last of these “has been established to share best practices among our cities.” India steers BRICS to consensus on trade, coercive measures amid West Asia rift Focusing on sustainability, Modi said a BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence had been created for smart grids and energy storage, and said Centres of Excellence for agro-ecology and regenerative agriculture “will connect traditional knowledge with modern science.”