No country should weaponise critical minerals, technology or supply chain, says Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Modi has warned against the strategic use of key technologies, key minerals, and global supply chains by any country to advance its own interests at the cost of others.

Addressing an outreach session at the BRICS Summit, PM Modi stressed the need for collective efforts to make such critical systems more resilient. "Apart from closer cooperation in critical minerals and technology, we must work towards securing and making their supply chains strong. We must also ensure that no nation deploys these resources exclusively for its own ends or as a weapon," he added.

Though the Prime Minister never named any country, the comments were perceived as a thinly veiled allusion to China's recent actions to suspend export of speciality fertilisers to India and restrict supplies of rare earth materials to a number of other countries.

Touching on another urgent concern indirectly related to China, PM Modi urged reform in the way that BRICS New Development Bank chooses and finances projects. He emphasized the need to make such a choice based on real needs, pursue long-term sustainability, and maintain a good credit rating. This is in contrast with Beijing's aggressive lending model, which has been blamed for incurring unsustainable debt and facilitating political and economic leverage through development finance.

To maintain credibility in making a call for revamping international multilateral institutions, BRICS has to fine-tune its governance structure first, Modi emphasized. He said that intra-BRICS economic cooperation has been continuously evolving, and improved internal practices will strengthen the group's position in the international arena.

The Prime Minister made these statements while speaking at the Outreach Session on Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence, where BRICS members, guest partners, and personalities like United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres were present.

With an emphasis on the increasing power of artificial intelligence, PM Modi called for a system of Responsible AI, with governance adopting a balance between promoting innovation and resolving its attendant risks. "We in India believe in AI as a tool to augment human values and capabilities," he stated. "Led by the mantra of 'AI for All', India is actively leveraging AI across various sectors, including agriculture, education, and healthcare."

Following similar words, UN Secretary-General Guterres stressed the need for inclusive AI governance: "The AI can't be a club of the few, but must benefit all, and in particular, developing countries which must have a real voice in global AI governance."

He also emphasized that equitable and effective AI regulation is impossible without confronting broader systemic imbalances in global institutions, including the United Nations Security Council. "The world is now multipolar," Guterres noted, "and it demands multilateral governance -- with global institutions attuned to the times, in particular the Security Council and the international financial architecture."

PM Modi also emphasized that the Global South has high expectations from BRICS and called upon the group to lead through action and inclusivity. "India is committed to working shoulder to shoulder with all partners for the realization of our common goals," he declared.

Referring to concrete efforts, he referred to the BRICS Agricultural Research Platform being held in India, which can be used as a platform for mutual exchange of innovations in agri-biotech, precision agriculture, and climate change adaptation strategies.

Suggesting a future-oriented initiative, the Prime Minister proposed setting up a BRICS Science and Research Repository, with the purpose of exchanging knowledge that could be of use not only to BRICS members but also developing countries in the Global South.