BRICS Business Forum 2026: India Pushes For Open Markets, Local Currency Trade And Stronger Economic Cooperation

The BRICS Business Forum 2026 brought government representatives, business leaders, financial institutions and startups together in New Delhi on Friday, September 11, ahead of the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit.

The meeting, organised at Bharat Mandapam, was dedicated to the challenge of fostering economic cooperation between the BRICS nations and to building more resilient economic trade and supply-chain networks in the context of the geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

The discussions ranged from trade and supply chains, agriculture and food security, services, women-led businesses and digital technology and innovation.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for greater economic integration between the BRICS countries, and urged that they further open their markets and remove non-tariff barriers to trade.

Goyal also emphasised the importance of enhancing the payment connectivity between the economies of BRICS. He recommended the use of local currencies for payments made across borders, and emphasised India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which he noted is an example of digital infrastructure that could facilitate payments.

Goyal said that more resilient supply chains, and intra-group trade, could be achieved through greater financial cooperation and reduction in trade barriers.

Minister of State External Affairs S Jaishankar also spoke on the problems of the global economy, citing geopolitical tensions, disruptions and other factors that have brought to light potential weaknesses in global supply chains.

He highlighted the significance of trustworthy logistics, clear investment procedures and fair trade in the BRICS economies. Jaishankar also noted that digitalisation and technology could be new avenues of cooperation.

The forum enabled the governments and private sector to exchange ideas on how to prolong the markets, deepen supply chains and better utilize the capabilities of BRICS economies.

The business forum was broke up into multiple sessions on key areas of economic cooperation.

In one session, the possibilities to expand intra-BRICS trade and to enhance connectivity along the supply chains, such as overcoming logistical and regulatory challenges, were discussed.

The other was dedicated to agriculture and food security, and agriculture productivity, sustainable agriculture, agri-trade, logistics and the use of technology were discussed.

The forum also covered the enormous potential for service trade, such as healthcare, financial services, education, tourism, logistics and professional services.

A special session on women entrepreneurs focused on enhancing market opportunities, financing and cross-border access for women entrepreneurs.

The last key business meeting addressed the digital economy with artificial intelligence, fintech, e-commerce and the digital public infrastructure and emerging technologies.

India also advocated for greater engagement of Startups, MSMEs and women entrepreneurs in the economic space of the BRICS.

The focus is on the idea of expanding economic cooperation to include beyond just big companies and government-to-government transactions. More financing, access to digital platforms and to international markets may help smaller businesses get more involved in cross-border trade.

The Business Forum is held before the BRICS Leaders' Summit being held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.

The new BRICS include 11 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Both make up almost half of the world's population and a significant portion of global GDP and trade.

The geopolitical tensions, disruptions to supply chains and uncertainty regarding global trade are the backdrop to the business discussions. India is promoting resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability as its focus for the 2026 BRICS Presidency.

The Business Forum has established the economic agenda for the leaders' summit, featuring trade, digital payments and technology, and supply-chain resilience, while BRICS leaders will be discussing global and geopolitical issues.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susmita Modak

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Always love to raise the unraised matter. In a world of worries, I am always ready to come over my comfort zone and taking the step ahead of spreading awareness.

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