Brics adopts Delhi Declaration as PM Modi pushes UNSC, financial reforms

The Brics grouping on Saturday unanimously adopted the Delhi declaration with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing that the reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) can no longer wait, and also called for changes in the voting power, leadership positions and policy priorities of the global financial institutions to reflect the current economic realities.

Modi said the countries that drive global economic growth should also be given a proper role in shaping global economic governance. He also urged Brics member states to adopt a “seafarers emergency support network”.

In his opening remarks at the Summit’s ‘closed session’ on ‘inclusive global governance and strengthening’, Modi said the time has come that the Global South becomes a “rule-shaper” instead of “rule-taker”, and has a voice in the shaping of the rules. Modi made the remarks in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Modi stressed that the Brics grouping is not against anyone, and works on consensus, but the time has come for the grouping, which has “come of age” as it has completed 20 years, to leverage its unity to put forth an ambitious agenda on the global stage by leveraging its unity and consensus to achieve concrete outcomes in the next two decades.

In his concluding remarks at the session, the PM said the discussions between the two leaders have been “meaningful” and “constructive”, and reflected the spirit among Brics members of shared responsibility. He said a changing world cannot be governed by old rules, reiterating his call for reform in representation, responsiveness and rule-making of global institutions. The PM said in his concluding remarks that member countries also underscored the need for the participation of the Global South in the rules governing future technologies.

The ‘closed session’ ended with a prolonged handshake between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping with China taking over the chair of Brics for next year. A key deliverable of the Summit that India has hosted was the Delhi declaration being unanimously accepted by all member countries, including Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Meetings in the run up to the Summit, including the Brics foreign ministers’ meeting in May, failed to reach consensus on joint declarations because of differences between Iran and the UAE.

In his inaugural address, the PM urged member countries to propose the agenda for the next 20 years beginning with reworking its “working system”. He said the Brics presidency changes every year, but it should not hamper its “institutional momentum”.

Modi proposed a Brics “continuity and implementation mechanism”, under which a “troika” would ensure “follow up” of all “initiatives and outcomes”. The Brics does not have a permanent secretariat. While the PM’s suggestion stops short of proposing a permanent secretariat, it does suggest a step forward in the way the grouping functions.

The PM proposed the Brics grouping putting in place a “secure digital repository” with a “nodal point” to record the time limit and implementation status of each decision taken by the member countries.

Modi called for strengthening Brics, and decided upon the “direction” that “global reform” should take. He said the “current structure” of “global governance” looks like a “pyramid”, where “power and decision making” are centralised at its top and, while countries that are impacted, but cannot shape these decisions are at its bottom.

The PM said Global South is in the “front row” of facing global challenges, “back row” of “decision-making”. “We need to change this “pyramid of privilege” to “platform of partnership”, where each country has a voice, a stake and decisions are human-centric,” Modi said. The PM proposed a three-pronged approach comprising representation, responsiveness and rule-making.

In the context of representation, the PM said that the UNSC reform can no longer wait. He said text-based negotiations on UNSC reform need to have specific time period and clear outcomes.

“From voice to impact, from privilege to partnership is the resolve” of the 18th Brics Summit, the PM said.