BRICS Summit: Weaponisation of tech, critical minerals could hinder shared progress, warns Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi that the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals could become a hurdle to shared progress, and called for inclusive access to technology. He outlined initiatives including a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for infectious diseases, a BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework, a BRICS Incubator Network, a proposed BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, a BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, and Centres of Excellence for smart grids, energy storage, agro-ecology and regenerative agriculture. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the session, and his meeting with Modi on the sidelines increased expectations of solutions on trade and investment concerns including assured supplies of rare earth elements and magnets, while border tensions remain a challenge.
Why it matters: The remarks address supply-chain vulnerabilities and economic coercion raised by China's periodic export restrictions on critical minerals and related technologies, a concern for the briefing's theme of geoeconomic fragmentation.