External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, underscored the importance of BRICS in reinforcing multilateralism in trading, peacebuilding, dialogue, and adherence to international law, during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in New York on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.
“When multilateralism is under stress, BRICS has stood firm as a strong voice of reason and constructive change,” he said in a social media post.
Addressing “rising protectionism”, “tariff volatility” and “non-tariff barriers”, the minister said BRICS must defend the multilateral trading system and “reinforce the message of peacebuilding, dialogue, diplomacy and adherence to international law”.
The BRICS is a group formed by eleven countries: Brasil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran. The group also expanded its partnerships, with Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan becoming partner countries in 2025.
In August, US President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs of 50 per cent on India and Brazil, on the former for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil, which the President said contributed to Russia’s raging war in Ukraine.
In New York, Jaishankar, called on the bloc to amplify its collective call for a comprehensive reform of the principal organs of the United Nations, especially the UN Security Council.
“Technology and innovation will define the next phase of BRICS cooperation,” he said.
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The Union Minister also met his counterparts from Sierra Leone, Romania, Cuba, Austria, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Russia, Uruguay, Colombia, Antigua and Barbuda, among others, besides the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
He said he had a “great meeting” with IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) ministers, adding that “IBSA made a strong call for the transformative reform of the UNSC”.
His meetings in the US included “lively discussions” with Austrian Foreign Minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, on the geopolitics of the day and the choices before India and Europe.
On his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Jaishankar said, “We agreed to strengthen our existing broad-based cooperation in fields such as agriculture, trade, health, digital, HADR and capacity building”, and added that the two nations must explore emerging areas such as AI, technology, critical minerals, space and renewables.
Meanwhile, he also co-chaired the India-CELAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting along with his Colombian counterpart, Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio.
The EAM said India and CELAC agreed on the urgent need to “reform multilateral institutions to better represent the Voice of the Global South”.
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