BRICS Summit Should Deliver Tangible Gains in Trade, Investment and Technology: FIEO

New Delhi, Sept 9 (TNT) : The 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12-13, should translate the grouping’s growing strategic engagement into tangible gains in exports, investment, technology partnerships and resilient supply chains, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said on Wednesday.

In a release, FIEO President S C Ralhan said BRICS must move beyond strategic dialogue and focus on measurable commercial outcomes for businesses.

“BRICS should now move beyond strategic dialogue to measurable commercial outcomes. For Indian businesses, its real value will lie in easier market access, stronger supply-chain partnerships, investment flows, technology collaboration and efficient payment mechanisms,” he said.

With the expanded BRICS grouping bringing together major economies across Asia, Africa, the Gulf, Latin America and Eurasia, the bloc offers Indian exporters a wider economic footprint. BRICS economies collectively account for around 26 per cent of global trade, providing India an opportunity to diversify its export markets.

Ralhan said India has significant export potential in engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles and apparel, automobiles and auto components, electronics, food and agricultural products, renewable energy, healthcare and digital services.

Deeper BRICS cooperation could also strengthen India’s access to critical minerals, energy, technology, capital and new manufacturing partnerships.

“The opportunity is not simply to sell more to BRICS countries. India should become an integral part of the production, sourcing and value chains being developed across these economies,” he said.

FIEO urged the Summit to prioritise measures aimed at facilitating trade, including faster customs procedures, reduction of non-tariff barriers, greater regulatory transparency, mutual recognition of standards and conformity assessments, improved logistics connectivity, digital trade documentation and easier cross-border payments.

Ralhan also called for commercially viable mechanisms to facilitate greater settlement of intra-BRICS trade in local currencies.

“Payment uncertainty can itself become a trade barrier. Efficient, transparent and compliant payment arrangements can reduce transaction costs and give businesses, particularly MSMEs, greater confidence to enter new markets,” he said.

FIEO also called for a stronger business-to-business framework within BRICS, including sector-specific buyer-seller meets, investment matchmaking, technology partnerships, joint ventures and regular business delegations.

“The real test of BRICS will be whether its benefits reach manufacturers, exporters, startups and MSMEs. Political goodwill has to travel from summit tables to shop floors,” Ralhan said.

India should also use its BRICS Chairship to position itself as a preferred manufacturing, sourcing and investment hub for the grouping, FIEO said.

Partnerships combining India’s manufacturing capabilities, skilled workforce, entrepreneurial ecosystem and digital infrastructure with the capital, natural resources, technologies and markets of other BRICS economies could help create resilient global value chains.

“Trade and investment must move together. We should look at co-production, joint ventures and technology transfer rather than viewing BRICS markets only through the prism of exports and imports,” Ralhan said.

FIEO said the New Delhi Summit comes at a time when global companies are diversifying their supply chains amid geopolitical and trade uncertainties. This presents India with an opportunity to emerge as a reliable sourcing and manufacturing base while expanding its presence across emerging markets.

“India’s BRICS leadership should ultimately be judged by outcomes—more exports, greater investment, stronger technology partnerships and deeper participation of Indian MSMEs in global value chains. If New Delhi can move BRICS in this direction, the Summit can become an important economic milestone for India and the wider Global South,” Ralhan added.

TNT KS