Modi talks multilateralism, trade at BRICS

Ending his Africa tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to multilateralism and international trade at a closed session of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Speaking to the leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations, the Prime Minister presented the country statement of India and emphasised on the need for a rules-based world order. 

The key focus area of this year's summit was the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), which the Prime Minister said was a huge opportunity. He called on nations to share their practices and policies so that technological innovations can help enhance service delivery and productivity levels. "High-skilled but temporary work will be the new face of employment. There will be radical changes in industrial production, design, and manufacturing," he said.

After the meeting, the PM tweeted: "At the session with fellow BRICS leaders, I shared my thoughts on various global issues, the importance of technology, skill development and how effective multilateral cooperation creates a better world."

However, it was Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that drew more attention, marking the third time the duo have met this year. Modi emphasised the need to maintain the "momentum" generated during their two recent meetings.

Earlier, Xi addressed the summit and called on the participating nations to  "reject protectionism outright". He also targeted global institutions, such as the World Trade Organisation and the G7, asking them to make concentrated efforts to fight unilateralism and protectionism. His statements were seen as a direct attack on Trump, whose trade war has crippled the world economy.

Trump's tariffs have pushed the emerging economies to enhance trade cooperation, with all the leaders finding a collective voice to champion global trade at the summit.

Following the closed meeting, Modi along with Xi,  Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Michel Temer and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa posed for the traditional group photo. They also released a joint statement reiterating their resolve to fight terrorism but stopped short of naming Pakistan-based terrorist organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

During the last BRICS summit, the leaders released the Xiamen Declaration, which specifically called out the Pakistani-based militant groups, in a major diplomatic victory for India.

"We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever. We urge concerted efforts to counter terrorism under the UN auspices on a firm international legal basis and express our conviction that a comprehensive approach is necessary to ensure an effective fight against terrorism," the joint statement said. "We recall the responsibility of all States to prevent financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories."