NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to free and fair international trade, multilateralism and a rules-based world order.
Addressing the plenary session of the 10th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Modi said talent will be more important than capital in the 4th industrial revolution, and that India wants to work closely with BRICS nations to address the challenges of this revolution.
The theme of this year's summit is, 'BRICS in Africa - collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the 4th industrial revolution,' said an Indian official in Delhi, noting that Modi had become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Rwanda and the first to address the Parliament of Uganda before arriving in South Africa.
Noting that this revolution would bring fundamental changes in the fields of Industrial production, design and manufacturing, he said his government's focus is to ensure vocational and technical education to empower the left out section of the society. The idea is to transform job seekers into job providers, but this needed major changes in terms of education and skill development.
The three-day summit began Wednesday with the BRICS Business Forum Meet, where South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address.
Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of the participating nations on the sidelines of the summit, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is also expected to meet other leaders including Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo as well as presidents Mauricio Macri of Argentina and João Lourenço of Angola.