Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that stronger economic ties among BRICS nations would be beneficial for the entire world.
Addressing the BRICS Business Forum on the opening day of the Summit in Johannesburg, Goyal called for “harnessing trade and investment potential” of emerging economies such as BRICS.
“It is time to make our partnership more self-resilient, more self-reliant… Not for the good of BRICS member nations, but for the greater good of the world,” the Indian minister remarked during his online address to the forum.
He called for increased investments and technological collaboration among BRICS members in the realms of health, agriculture, water, renewable energy, biotechnology, infrastructure, electric mobility and sustainability.
As far as India is concerned, Goyal highlighted that the country managed to achieve a GDP growth of 7.2 percent in 2022-23, making it the fastest-growing large economy in the world and making it an “attractive investment destination”.
“Our substantially youthful population, with a median age of 28, is a strategic advantage amid a global demographic shift,” he said,
Goyal noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was providing financial incentives to foreign investors as well as involved in filling country’s “infrastructure gaps” through federal schemes like ‘PM Gati Shakti’.
Goyal emphasized that the Covid pandemic, supply chain disruptions, climate change, and the conflict in Europe have presented the global economy with a myriad of challenges in recent years
“The challenges have presented an opportunity for BRICS nations to collectively address complex issues keeping the aspirations and needs of developing world at the forefront,” he said.
Goyal underscored the crucial role of BRICS nations in ongoing reforms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to make it more open and non-discriminatory, aligning with interests of the developing states of the Global South.
He said that BRICS states could actively and constructively contribute to WTO reforms.
“We can together chart the course of discussions. Our collective goal should be to strengthen the multilateral trading system with the WTO as its cornerstone, carried by principles of openness, frankness, transparency, inclusivity and non-discrimination,” he said.
BRICS has Emerged as Driving Force of Global Growth
Addressing the BRICS Manufacturing Summit on Monday, Goyal described BRICS nations as the driving force of global growth.
“BRICS economies are catching up with the combined GDP of G7 countries and will continue to increasingly contribute to the global GDP," Goyal reportedly said during an online address to the BRICS Manufacturing Summit attended by delegates from over 30 countries.
He stated that BRICS nations were fast catching up with the combined GDP of G7 countries, accompanied by “significant shift” in manufacturing processes.