Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday (September 11, 2026) urged the gathered BRICS members and partner countries to link their payment systems and conduct more trade in local currencies.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the BRICS Business Forum 2026, Mr. Goyal highlighted that BRICS cooperation would create jobs, wealth and prosperity for countries that represent half of mankind and 40% of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE updates
“BRICS today represents almost one-fourth of global trade, and India is an important pillar of intra-BRICS trade,” Mr. Goyal said. “Engineering goods and electronics account for the largest segment of India’s manufactured exports. India is also known as the pharmacy of the world.”
Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, also speaking at the event, said that higher economic security means greater self-reliance while also remaining inter-connected.
“The objective is to strengthen our ability to absorb shocks while remaining connected and competitive,” Mr. Jaishankar said. “That calls for genuine market practices, predictable business environment, diversified commercial relationships, and transparent trade and industry.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and others during the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum 2026
| Photo Credit:
via PTI
“It also calls for energy systems capable of coping with disruption and transition pathways, which are suited to different national circumstances,” he added.
Local currency and stable trade
Without naming any one particular currency or nation, Mr. Goyal spoke about enhancing local currency trade and also how trade should at no point become an impediment to growth.
“We believe trade among partners should be deep, resilient, with diversified supply chains, and ensuring that at no point of time does trade become an impediment to growth and the wellbeing of the people of each member state,” he said.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks during the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum 2026, in New Delhi
| Photo Credit:
PTI
“I would urge the BRICS member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems, trade in each other’s local currencies, make digital trade global and build together for the future,” Mr. Goyal added.
The Commerce Minister also urged the gathered BRICS leaders to open their markets to each other’s products, including raw materials and critical minerals, and to work together to simplify regulatory procedures and facilitate faster clearance of consignments.
Areas of BRICS collaboration
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, also speaking at the session, pitched for greater collaboration in the areas of digital services, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, among other technology-oriented sectors.
“The other issue that I would like to highlight is about data centres, which have become so critical and will be more important in our lives to come,” Mr. Prasada said. “Each country has to ensure the availability of green power and the best practices to ensure that our technologies and our economy remain within our own boundaries, as far as data goes with regard to this technology of artificial intelligence and hyperscale data centres.”
The Russian Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, spoke of another area where the BRICS countries could collaborate — a BRICS grain exchange.
“BRICS countries are among the world’s leading producers and consumers, but we still rely on price benchmarks that reflect the interests of entirely different markets,” Mr. Reshetnikov said. “We urgently need an independent mechanism for strategic agricultural commodities.”
“Russia prepared a detailed plan to establish the BRICS grain exchange,” he added. “It’s a unified trading platform where producers, traders and buyers can conclude transactions directly. We call upon partner feedback at the public and private level.”
He also called for greater BRICS cooperation in the area of Special Economic Zones, saying that while each member country has used them to great effect individually, now was the time to work together to create such joint economic zones.
Published – September 11, 2026 01:02 pm IST
