Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes that the two-day annual BRICS summit will deliberate on protecting developing economies from the global impact of wars in Ukraine and West Asia.
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‘UNSC Reforms Can No Longer Wait’: PM Modi Outlines 10 Proposals to End ‘Pyramid of Privilege’ at BRICS SummitPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday officially declared the BRICS Summit, 2026 open with ten proposals to upend the global “pyramid of privilege” for a select few countries into a “platform of partnership” for everyone. He asserted that the reforms in the UN Security Council can no longer be delayed.Exhorting the gathering that included the top leadership of BRICs – Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto among others -- to steer the Global South towards becoming a “rule shaper” to deal with various challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoped that the two-day annual BRICS summit will deliberate on protecting developing economies from the global impact of wars in Ukraine and West Asia.The other leaders attending the summit are Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.PM Modi also called for immediate reform of the UN Security Council. “The UNSC reforms can no longer wait,” he said.Modi called for a major overhaul of global governance, proposing that the eleven-member BRICS bloc prepare a `10-point Reform Roadmap’ to make international institutions more representative, responsive and inclusive, with countries driving global economic growth given a greater role in shaping global rules.“Those countries that give momentum to global economic growth should also get due role in giving direction to global economic governance,” the PM said.The PM’s observations are significant given the fact that India’s economic growth is one of the fastest among major economies.Efforts need to be made to make the Global South move from being rule-takers to rule-shapers, Modi said. “Through BRICS, we can provide negotiation skills, practical training, and legal expertise to young diplomats and policy-makers of Global South countries,” he added.Modi said the current global governance structure resembled a “pyramid”, with power and decision-making concentrated at the top while countries affected by these decisions remained largely at the bottom.“The Global South is at the front row of global crises, but at the back row of decision-making,” he said, calling for the pyramid to be transformed into a “privileged platform of partnership” where every country has a voice and every member has a stake.Modi proposed that BRICS jointly prepare ten proposals for global governance reform and give them the form of a `BRICS Reform Roadmap’ by the next summit. He identified three key areas for the roadmap — representation, responsiveness and rule-making.On representation, Modi said reform of the United Nations Security Council could no longer be stalled and called for text-based negotiations to be linked to a definite timeline and clear outcome. He also called for the voting power, leadership positions and policy priorities of international financial institutions to be reviewed in line with today’s economic realities.On responsiveness, Modi said the credibility of global institutions would depend on their ability to provide effective solutions with greater speed, scale and last-mile impact. He proposed a `Seafarer Emergency Support Network’ connecting maritime authorities and diplomatic missions to provide distress alerts, medical assistance, information to families and evacuation support to seafarers caught in crises.Modi also sought to ensure that the grouping maintains institutional momentum over the long term despite changes in its agenda from year to year. He proposed a `BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism’, under which the grouping’s Troika would follow up on initiatives and outcomes.A secure digital repository, he said, could record every decision, its nodal point, timeline and implementation status, providing a mechanism to track commitments across successive BRICS presidencies.Modi linked the reform push to the grouping’s broader role in representing the Global South amid growing geopolitical and economic uncertainty. He said the fact that the summit was being held on a day dedicated to United Nations South-South Cooperation gave the initiative added significance, asserting that India was ready to take the lead.“The message of this BRICS Summit held in India should be clear: if our future is shared, then the right to its construction should also be shared,” Modi said.Published on September 12, 2026
