BRICS Business Forum: Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal Among Speakers As Business Leaders Discuss Trade, Technology

The BRICS Business Forum is underway in New Delhi on Friday as part of the BRICS Summit 2026, bringing together business and government leaders from member countries ahead of the leaders’ meeting. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal are among the speakers at the forum.

Opening the business summit, BRICS Business Council Chair Jai Shroff said India’s BRICS chairmanship has been guided by four priorities — resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability — which are equally relevant to the private sector.

“India’s BRICS chairmanship under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been built around four priorities: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation

and Sustainability. These are important priorities for the government, but equally relevant for business,” Shroff said, according to ANI.

Shroff also called for viewing BRICS as an integrated economic network rather than simply a grouping of large markets.

“We should not be looking at BRICS as a group of large markets but as an economic network where our strengths can reinforce one another. A resource in one BRICS economy can support manufacturing in another. A technology developed in one market can find scale in another. Capital can find projects and business can find new partners and customers across our economy,” he said.

The BRICS Business Forum is the group’s main platform for engagement between the private sector and policymakers. It is held annually in the country hosting the BRICS Summit and brings together business representatives, ministers and heads of state to discuss issues including trade, investment, finance, technology and sustainable development.

The forum also provides a platform for the BRICS Business Council to present recommendations to policymakers. Its discussions and recommendations can feed into the broader economic agenda of the grouping, including efforts to boost intra-BRICS trade and investment, strengthen digital economy cooperation, support MSMEs, improve standards coordination and build integrated value chains.

The main BRICS Summit programme is scheduled to begin on September 12. Leaders are expected to take stock of initiatives under India’s presidency and discuss ways to further deepen the strategic partnership among BRICS countries.

India’s BRICS chairship has placed emphasis on cooperation in areas including trade, digital technology, finance, energy security and reform of global governance institutions.

Key issues expected to figure in the summit discussions include strengthening global supply chains, integrating cross-border payment systems, increasing the use of national currencies in trade, supporting MSMEs, digital trade and artificial intelligence.

Energy security, climate resilience and development finance are also expected to feature prominently, along with discussions on expanding the role of the New Development Bank and pushing for reforms in multilateral financial and political institutions.