Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this special press briefing on Prime Minister's participation in 17th BRICS Summit here in Rio de Janeiro, which is hosted by Brazil.
We have with us Secretary (ER) Shri Dammu Ravi to brief us on Prime Minister's participation in BRICS and we are joined by our Ambassador to Brazil, Shri Dinesh Bhatia, as also Shri Abhishek Singh, Joint Secretary who looks after Multilateral Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs.
With that, I invite Secretary sir to make his opening remarks. Sir, over to you.
Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): Thank you, Randhir and good evening to all of you. Nice to see you here in Rio.
Friends, as you know, yesterday Honorable Prime Minister arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the 17th BRICS Summit hosted by Brazil. This two-day summit assumes significant importance in the context of the fast-changing global developments. The theme of the 17th summit is Strengthening Global South Cooperation for Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.
Honorable Prime Minister's visit assumes added importance, in my view, it really elevated the entire summit as we could sense during the opening session today; the importance that President Lula has attached to Honorable Prime Minister's participation; and the fact that India is a founding member of the BRICS; and India has always participated in the BRICS summit; and also the fact that next year India will be taking over the chair of the BRICS. So, his importance … Honorable Prime Minister's participation assumes greater significance and importance given that background.
Today was a full-day program. There were three sessions with a working lunch, and Honorable Prime Minister also had few bilaterals and also pull-asides during the day, it was a packed session … day.
Honorable Prime Minister thanked President Lula for warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation, and he also welcomed the Indonesian President for joining as a full member of the BRICS, and he welcomed also the participation of the partner countries in this summit.
The 17th summit has a very large participation. There are 11 permanent members, there are 9 partner countries, 8 invitee countries, and 7 heads of the international organizations. So, from that point of view, it is a relatively larger participation as compared to last year.
Let me give you a brief overview on the sessions. Honorable Prime Minister addressed the session on Global Governance and Peace and Security where he reaffirmed India's commitment to enhancing the voice of the global south. He noted the developing countries require greater support for sustainable development in terms of access to climate finance and technology. He reiterated that the global organizations of the 20th century lacked the capacity to deal with the challenges of the 21st century and therefore, he underscored the importance of reforming the multilateral organizations. He called for a multipolar and inclusive world order and stated that the global governance institutions, particularly the UN Security Council, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO must undergo urgent reform to reflect the contemporary realities and times.
On the session on Peace and Security, Honorable Prime Minister underlined that terrorism was a grave threat facing humanity. In this context, he noted that all the leaders have condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack in strongest terms. He underlined that the attack, the Pahalgam terror attack is an onslaught on the entire humanity. He also noted that those funding, promoting, and providing safe havens to terrorists must be dealt with in the harshest terms.
In the session on Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic, Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence, Honorable Prime Minister expressed that diversity and multipolarity were valued strengths of the BRICS. He added that BRICS could play an important role in shaping a multipolar world. In this context, he also gave a few suggestions in terms of considering setting up a science and research repository in the BRICS group by the Global South countries to focus on supply chains of the critical minerals, both secured and make it resilient, and the BRICS group to work on responsible AI.
Tomorrow, there will be a session on the Environment, COP 30 and Global health, during which Honorable Prime Minister will reiterate India's deep commitment to environmental action. He will also elaborate on the initiatives taken by India to promote pro-people and pro-planet growth and development. And he will highlight India's initiatives in that context, particularly the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Global Biofuel Alliance and International Big Cats, Mission Life among others.
This will be broadly the theme for the session in doing with … which have been very well captured in the leaders declaration, which was adopted by the leaders today. And you would say it's a very exhaustive document running into several paras. And for India's point of view, most of our concerns have been very well captured.
I would like to bring to you your attention on Para 6, where there is a very strong expression for reform of the Global Multilateral Institutions, in particular the UN and the UN Security Council, in which countries of the Global South to play an active role. And this time, that Para and that formulation has been further strengthened over the Kazan formulation where it got reiterated, reinforced in terms of India and Brazil to play an active role in international affairs and multilateral bodies in the UN systems and in the Security Council. I think this is a very, very strong reiteration of the increasingly important role both India and Brazil will play. So, we are very satisfied with this formulation.
The second para of importance for us is Para 34, where again the reiteration and condemnation of the Pahalgam attack. And there again, all the members have supported India. They expressed solidarity and strong condemnation that is very well captured in that.
We have other paras, but many of India's ideas that we've been negotiating over a period of time have been well brought out. And in today's discussion, what we noticed was most of the ideas and views exchanged during all the sessions resonate with Honorable Prime Minister's views in very broad terms.
Honorable Prime Minister also had bilateral meetings. One he had with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, wherein Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Ibrahim for his strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. And the two leaders also discussed cooperation in multilateral arena and regional security. Honorable Prime Minister congratulated Malaysia for his successful stewardship of ASEAN and welcomed its continued support for a strengthened ASEAN-India comprehensive strategic partnership and early successful completion of the review of the ASEAN-India FTA.
The second meeting that he had was with the President of Cuba, His Excellency Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez. And there again, both leaders talked about bilateral issues and exchanged ideas on further economic cooperation between the two countries. And very clearly in this meeting, India's digital public infrastructure and UPI, Unified Payment Interface, these proposals, initiatives of India which are low cost, came up. Cuba showed a lot of interest to look into it and see how much it can benefit from those. Another item that came in the discussion was Cuba's possible recognition of Ayurveda and extended support for integrating Ayurveda into Cuba's public health system. There was also a suggestion for Cuba to recognize Indian pharmacopoeia, which will benefit in terms of giving access to India's generic medicines to Cuban national health care system.
So, these are broadly the discussions that happened in the bilaterals. In addition, Prime Minister also had pull-asides with President Ramaphosa of South Africa and Prime Minister of Vietnam. So broadly, these are today's highlights. And if there are any questions you might want or seek clarification, I'll be happy to answer. Thank you very much.
Vishal Pandey, ABP News: Sir main Vishal Pandey ABP news se. Mera sawal hai aaj jo BRICS ke joint declaration mein Pahalgam atanki hamle ki kade shabdon mein ninda ki gai aur uske sath hi ek kaha gaya hai ki jo Sanyukt raashtra ke dwara designated terrorist hain un par karwai ki jani chaiye aur khas baat ye hai ki sabhi deshon ne iska samarthan kiya jo uske sadasya desh hain. Toh kya ye Pakistan ko bada sandesh diya gaya hai yaha se kyuki Pakistan hi atankwadiyon ko palta posta hai, cross border terrorism ko anjam dene ka prayas karta hai, cross border shabd ka bhi prayog kiya gaya hai, toh kya ye seedha sandesh Pakistan ko diya aur tamam deshon ka samarthan Bharat ko mila hai?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I’m Vishal Pandey from ABP News. My question is regarding the BRICS joint declaration today, where the terrorist attack in Pahalgam was strongly condemned in very clear terms. It was also stated that action must be taken against individuals designated as terrorists by the United Nations. Notably, all the member countries supported this statement. So, does this send a strong message to Pakistan, considering it is the country that nurtures terrorists and attempts to carry out cross-border terrorism? The term ‘cross-border’ has also been used. So, is this a direct message to Pakistan, and has India received full support from all member countries?
Meghna Dev, DD India: Sir, I have two questions. I'm Meghna Dev from DD India.
First one, the declaration, it says that there will be work on finding out interoperability in the BRICS cross-border payments initiative. What is that initiative? There was a technical report also that was revealed. So, I would like to also know about it.
My second question is … be it the debt servicing or the debt of the Global South, was that discussed? And what has been the discussions amongst the leaders about the debt that Global South is facing?
Camila Zarur, Valor Econômico: Hi. I'm Camila Zarur from Valor Econômico, the Brazilian newspaper. The Prime Minister is scheduled for an official visit with President Lula on Tuesday in Brasilia. What can we expect from the meeting, and what kind of agreement might be announced?
Deepak Choubey, INS News: Sir, Deepak Choubey, INS News. Sir isme ek aur cheez hui ki jo Israel ne Iran par jo hamla kiya uski ninda ki gai hai iske iske bare mein kya kahenge aap?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I’m Deepak Choubey from INS News. Sir, one more thing—there was also a condemnation of the attack carried out by Israel on Iran. What would you like to say about this?
Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): So, on the question on Brazil, I'll ask Ambassador to take the question later. But, let me articulate some of the most important questions that came up in the context of Pahalgam.
See, if you look at the Para … it's 34. It's very clear. One is there is unanimous condemnation of all the leaders. I think you need to know that. And it also says that condemnation in all its manifestations, and including those who abet, who finance, and either openly, covertly, or overtly, in both ways, it has been condemned. There is also reference to the cross-border movement of terrorists. It's also coming out very clearly. And the listing of terrorist groups. And there is also a strong support for comprehensive convention on international … against international terrorism, which was India's formulation, India's initiative in the UN for a long time, as you know that.
So, the message is very clear. For anyone who understands the dangers of terrorism and how it needs to be condemned, tackled not by just us. There is a solidarity. There is a universal condemnation, which means all the countries are against it in any form. So, that message is very clear to our neighbors.
Let me mention about the BRICS cross-border payments, which Meghna has just brought it out, and the debt servicing issues. I think this is a concern post-COVID, as you all know that countries economically have become weak in the Global South. And that is truly the concern of the BRICS countries, because BRICS in some sense represent Global South countries, a multipolarity in its strongest terms, because there is a diversity in the BRICS countries. So, this was one of the ideas. Now what are they looking for? Countries are looking for alternatives. Interoperability payment is a faster mechanism in terms of able to do cross-border trading. And this is a low-cost solution. India has successfully implemented it, and we are also entering into bilateral arrangements with many countries. So, within the BRICS track, there is a discussion on it. We are hopeful that in the days to come, there will be traction, and countries will accept it, as it is beneficial to most of them.
Now you talked about the national currency settlement … also to be in a trade in national currency settlement. This is to be seen in the same breath. Significant progress has also happened in that context, and all the countries are quite supportive of these initiatives.
On the Israel front, this is the most contentious issue at this point of time, because particularly given the situation and concern in West Asia, including Honorable Prime Minister expressed concern in his intervention today … the West Asian crisis. So, Israel-Palestine, this two-state settlement, condemnation of the attack on civilians, all these have come up. And the message, again, is very clear, that diplomacy, negotiation is the only way forward. And the character of the BRICS, understanding that there are lots of countries from that region, have very strong views on this. So, it got captured in the leaders’ declaration, much to the satisfaction of the member countries.
Ambassador, would you like to comment on the question on bilateral meeting?
Shri Dinesh Bhatia, Ambassador to Brazil: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You asked about the bilateral visit of Prime Minister Modi to Brasilia at the invitation of President Lula on 8th of July. As a matter of fact, tomorrow, 7th of July, Prime Minister arrives Brasilia, and he'll be treated as a State Guest. It's after 57 years that the Prime Minister of India is paying a State Visit to Brazil. During the State Visit, he'll be accorded the state protocol, state ceremonial welcome, followed by a bilateral talk, where both delegations, led by the respective leaders, will meet.
And after the talks, we are hoping to sign four Agreements / MOUs between the two countries, namely on renewable energy; counterterrorism; agricultural research cooperation between ICR (Indian Council for Agricultural Research), and Embrapa of Brazil; and also exchange and mutual protection of confidential information. These agreements have been finalized, and we're hoping to sign this on 8th of July. Thank you.
Akhilesh Suman, Doordarshan: Sir, I'm Akhilesh Suman from Doordarshan. This is the first time that you are meeting with several new members … extended BRICS. So, can you give us a flavor of the type of discussion that took place on various issues?
And also, was there any proposal to change the name of the BRICS, because it is no more Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa?
Surya Agni, IANS: Hello, Sir. This is Surya Agni from IANS. Sir, we saw the Prime Minister directly speaking about reforms on international bodies and we also saw the joint declaration on it. But, you know, despite the fact that there is a mention, direct mention of Russia and China reiterating their support to this thing, how easy or difficult do you guys think that it will be for BRICS or for the Government of India to implement this internationally and make sure that this happens in real time?
Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER): I think, Akhilesh ji, you raised an interesting question, but given the diversity of the BRICS member countries, you should only expect that the Agenda will be widespread. And, you know, the, mostly the agenda setting is by the host country that sets the agenda. But host country also takes into consideration the diversity that exists in the group.
So going by that, if you look at the sessions, it's very clear. The artificial intelligence, good governance, peace and security, you have global health, COP-30, multilateralism … now these are all concerns of the Global South and that's where it is. You have … the entire session now is putting forth into the center stage the issues of the Global South.
And I think there is a thread. Although we are seeing a lot of focus on these issues of the Global South, but what India did in the G20 was precisely that. We brought development to the center stage and the issues of the Global South into the forefront of the global debate and discussions. And it's carrying forward.
So, the same agenda you see here, in somewhat like a continuing thread, coming into the BRICS and next year when India takes over the chairship of BRICS, we will build further on that. And we are already thinking about an agenda for, in terms of sustainability, resilience, and these are again very important because in a disruptive world today, both in terms of trade, in terms of the geopolitical tensions, the supply chain disruptions, you need to have resilience. You need sustainability. So, I think you will see again a momentum and continuity in the way the BRICS will evolve in terms of the way they will take up the issues of the Global South.
Now, whether the BRICS will change its nomenclature, I doubt very much because I think it's already become a brand by itself. And I don't think by changing the brand you will gain anything more. But I think it has already captured the world's attention, and member countries are quite happy with this, yes. So, I don't think we will. No one has come out with any alternative at this point of time. So, I don't.
Surya mentioned about the reform of the UN. I think I elaborated it. But let me, to your satisfaction, I'd like to say that Para 6 captures a formulation that has been articulated over a period of time. It's coming, flowing from almost two years ago. And we tried to get more clarity during the Johannesburg Summit of South Africa. That formulation underwent some changes because new members came in. Again, you have to understand that a large number of group of countries … it's not that easy to find a common denominator to everyone's satisfaction. But you have to be happy with what you have got.
But our understanding is that this formulation in the BRICS, Brazil's chairship, is a big improvement over Kazan. Because Kazan formulation, although reiterates, recognizes the Johannesburg formulation, but Brazil has gone one step higher. And I think we all work together to ensure that this stronger formulation comes in. Which is, again, recognizing the role of India, Brazil, large countries to play a larger role in international relations and the UN systems, and including Security Council.
Now, whichever way you look at it, you cannot take away the importance of large countries like India and Brazil to be playing that big role. 1.4 billion people, with having lifted millions of people out of poverty, definitely qualifies to be playing that role in the multilateral organizations, and also in the global debate and discourse on all these issues.
So that, one has to recognize, and I think the global community recognizes it. What we will do from here, to get a wider acceptability, is like, you know, it's brick by brick. So, India's chairship will give us yet another opportunity to develop thinking on it and the narrative building. No, it's just not India. You will have to see that a large country, a large population, is actually humanity. You know, BRICS countries represent a huge number of the humanity, and that has to be well captured into the multilateral forum.
And this is what everybody is saying. In today's discussion, it's come out very well, that Global South, the voices should be amplified and adequately captured in the multilateral discourse and the decision-making.
Thank you.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this session. Thank you very much. Please do stay in touch, because we have more updates on this visit of the Prime Minister.
He will be travelling, as the Ambassador said, to Brasilia tomorrow for a State Visit, and thereafter there are other programmes as well. Thank you.
Rio de Janeiro
July 06, 2025