BRICS Summit 2026: ‘Weaponisation Of Technologies And Critical Minerals Threatens Shared Progress’, Says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the weaponisation of technology and critical minerals could hinder shared global progress. He was addressing the 18th BRICS Summit's session on Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability at Bharat Mandapam.  

Modi called for stronger, more resilient supply chains and inclusive access to technology, framing this under India's four-pillar presidency agenda. 

The prime minister made the remarks in the presence of Chinese president Xi Jinping, Russian president Vladimir Putin, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto.  

He said rising geopolitical tensions were hurting ordinary people worldwide and that pandemics, climate disasters and supply-chain disruptions had shown no crisis stays confined to one region. 

Under the resilience pillar, members agreed on an integrated early-warning system for infectious diseases, disaster-management data guidelines and a logistics and supply-chain cooperation framework.  

On innovation, India proposed a BRICS Incubator Network and a Startup Innovation Fund, along with a digital agriculture network linking AI and geospatial tools to farmers' needs.  

On sustainability, the bloc launched a digital centre of excellence for smart grids and energy storage, and centres for agro-ecology and regenerative agriculture.  

Modi's warning follows similar remarks at the Rio BRICS summit in July 2025, when he said no country should weaponise critical minerals, technology or supply chains for selfish gain - seen then as a veiled reference to China's dominance of over 90% of global rare-earth magnet processing capacity and its export curbs since April 2025.  

India has since pursued its own critical-minerals partnerships, including a February 2026 agreement with Brazil to jointly develop rare-earth supply chains. 

Modi further added that BRICS solutions should extend beyond the bloc to serve the wider Global South, calling diversity and cooperation its core strength.