Speaking at the virtual BRICS Leaders summit on September 8, 2025, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized the need for a stable and predictable global climate that is favorable to investment and commerce.
He emphasized the need for economic activities to be intrinsically equitable, open, and advantageous to all stakeholders. Jaishankar emphasized the need of protecting the global trading system, which is founded on the ideas of justice, nondiscrimination, openness, fairness, transparency, and rule-based strategies, such as special and differential treatment for developing nations.
He called for resilient, dependable, redundant, and geographically diverse supply chains to reduce vulnerability to shocks, pointing out that the Covid epidemic and other reasons have caused disruptions in global trade.
Jaishankar emphasized the value of democratizing production and manufacturing, encouraging local self-sufficiency, and allaying fears amid world unpredictability.
By examining their internal trade flows and resolving India’s trade imbalances with certain BRICS partners, he urged the BRICS countries to set an example of positive and cooperative trade practices.
He cautioned that such efforts are ineffective and complicate transactions, and he criticized the escalation of trade barriers and the tying of trade concerns to non-trade issues.
His comments are made in the context of rising trade tensions, including the US imposing a 50% tariff on Indian exports, which includes a 25% penalty for India’s ongoing imports of Russian oil. This affects important industries like chemicals, leather, jewelry, and textiles.
On the global stage, Jaishankar voiced concern about the continuous wars that impact the Global South, particularly the decline in the security of food, energy, and fertilizer as a result of supply chain and shipping disruptions.
He urged immediate conflict settlement and diplomacy to ensure lasting peace and stability, which would improve the state of the world economy, and cautioned that selective protectionism and trade segmentation are insufficient global answers.
He also emphasized the urgent need for reform, especially in the United Nations and its Security Council, and pointed out the structural flaws in international organizations.
He recommended that in order to promote a more effective and inclusive global governance structure, the BRICS should vigorously support such reforms.
In his speech, Jaishankar promoted a rules-based international trade system that aids in the sustainable development of developing nations while urging multilateral cooperation to foster a more equitable, stable global economy, robust supply chains, and renewed efforts to resolve geopolitical conflicts endangering the world’s food and energy security.
With particular reference to trade disruptions such as US tariffs on India and global South inequities in crucial resources, this comprehensive backdrop encapsulates the main elements of Jaishankar’s address as well as the geopolitical and economic challenges that surround the 2025 BRICS gathering.
