New Delhi: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that the share of the BRICS countries in global merchandise exports has doubled from 12 per cent in 2003 to 24 per cent at present, reflecting the potential of the bloc to deepen trade further in the years ahead.
The Union Minister was speaking at the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum here, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and representatives of other BRICS members.
“The growing relevance of BRICS is reflected in our trade performance. Merchandise exports from BRICS countries to the world increased from about 900 billion dollars in 2003 to nearly 6 trillion dollars in 2024, raising our share of global exports from about 12 per cent to nearly 24 per cent now,” he said.
“Our task is now to translate this momentum of growth into stronger inter-BRICS trade, more resilient supply chains and greater opportunities for our businesses,” Goyal added.
Earlier in the inaugural session of BRICS Business Forum, the Union Minister said India has taken significant initiatives in laying out a digital public infrastructure.
“Today, UPI is also accepted in 11 countries and I would urge the BRICS member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems, trade in each other’s local currencies, make digital trade global and build together for the future emerging technologies,” Goyal added.
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has crossed more than 250 billion transactions a year, representing more than half of the transactions by volume across the world.
Union Minister Goyal said, “Engineering goods and electronics account for the largest segment of India’s manufactured exports. India is also known as the pharmacy of the world.”
He highlighted that BRICS cooperation would create jobs, wealth and prosperity for countries that represent half of the global population and 40 per cent of the global GDP.
The business forum was held on the sidelines of the two-day BRICS summit, being hosted by India from Saturday.
The summit is taking place against growing global economic uncertainties triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, US-Iran conflict leading to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
(IANS)
