Rio de Janeiro [Brazil], July 7 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other BRICS leaders, partners and outreach invitees, gathered for the traditional family photo at the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday morning (local time).

The summit brought together leaders and representatives from BRICS nations and partner countries to discuss cooperation and strategic partnerships, marking a significant moment of unity and collaboration among the countries that the grouping represents.

Hosted by Brazil from July 7 to July 9, the summit saw leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and new members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia come together during the event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 17th BRICS Summit being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 6-7, 2025, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

During the summit, the leaders held productive discussions on various issues on the BRICS agenda, including reform of global governance, enhancing the voice of the global south, peace and security, strengthening multilateralism, development issues, and Artificial Intelligence.

Prime Minister Modi thanked the President of Brazil for his warm hospitality and the successful organisation of the Summit, the statement added.

In his address to the inaugural session on 'Reform of Global Governance and Peace and Security,' the Prime Minister reaffirmed India's commitment to enhancing the voice of the Global South. He noted that developing countries required greater support for sustainable development, especially in terms of access to climate finance and technology. Highlighting that the global organisations of the 20th century could not deal with the challenges of the 21st century, he underscored the need for reforming them.

Calling for a multipolar and inclusive world order, the Prime Minister stated that global governance institutions such as the UN Security Council, the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO must undergo urgent reform to reflect contemporary realities. He thanked the leaders for highlighting the urgency of UN Security Council reform and adopting strong language on the issue in the Summit Declaration.

On Peace and Security, the Prime Minister underlined that terrorism was a grave threat facing humanity. In this context, he noted that the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 was not just an attack on India but an onslaught on all of humanity. Calling for strong global action against terrorism, the Prime Minister emphasised that those funding, promoting, or providing safe havens to terrorists must be dealt with in the harshest terms. He stressed that there should be no double standards in dealing with terrorism and thanked the BRICS leaders for condemning the Pahalgam terror attack in the strongest terms. Calling upon the BRICS countries to strengthen the global fight against terrorism, he emphasised that there should be zero tolerance in dealing with the menace, as per the statement.

Further elaborating on the subject, the Prime Minister noted that conflicts, from West Asia to Europe, were a matter of deep concern. He added that India has always called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve such conflicts and was ready to contribute towards such efforts.

Addressing the session on 'Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence,' the Prime Minister expressed that diversity and multipolarity were valued strengths of BRICS. He stated that at a time when the world order was under pressure and the global community was facing uncertainty and challenges, the relevance of BRICS was evident. He further added that BRICS could play an important role in shaping a multipolar world.

In this regard, he offered four suggestions: one, the BRICS New Development Bank must follow demand-driven principles and long-term sustainability for granting projects; two, the group consider setting up a Science and Research repository which could benefit global south countries; three, focus must be given to making the supply chain of critical minerals secure and resilient; and four, the group should work for responsible AI--while looking into the concerns of AI governance, it should also give equal importance to promoting innovation in the field, the statement said.

After the Leaders' Session, the member countries adopted the 'Rio de Janeiro Declaration'. (ANI)