State of the world today is a cause for genuine concern: Jaishankar at virtual BRICS summit    

The world is seeking a stable and predictable environment for trade and investment and economic practices should be fair, transparent and to everyone's benefit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, amid increasing global concerns over Washington's tariff tussle.

In an address at a virtual BRICS summit, the external affairs minister said India strongly believes that the foundational principles such as open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory approach of the international trading system must be protected.

Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit that saw participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other leaders of the grouping.

The summit was convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss trade disruptions triggered by Washington's policies on trade and tariff.

"The world as a collective is seeking a stable and predictable environment for trade and investment. At the same time, it is imperative that economic practices are fair, transparent and to everyone's benefit," Jaishankar said.

"When there are multiple disruptions, our objective should be to proof it against such shocks. That means creating more resilient, reliable, redundant and shorter supply chains," he said.

Jaishankar said the world requires "constructive and cooperative" approaches to promote trade that is sustainable.

"Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help. Neither would the linking of trade measures to non-trade matters," he said.

The external affairs minister said the BRICS itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states.

"Where India is concerned, some of our biggest deficits are with BRICS partners and we have been pressing for expeditious solutions. We hope that this realisation will be part of the takeaways from today's meeting," he said.

The remarks assumed significance as they came amid India's ballooning trade deficit with China.

"The international trading system is based on the foundational principles of open, fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, inclusive, equitable and a rules-based approach with special and differential treatment for developing countries," Jaishankar said.

"India strongly believes that this should be protected and nurtured," he said.

The external affairs minister also said that the "state of the world today is a cause for genuine concern".

He listed the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic, major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and volatility in trade and investment flows as well as extreme climate events as some of the major challenges facing the globe in the last few years.

"In the face of these challenges, the multilateral system appears to be failing the world. That so many serious stresses are being left unaddressed is understandably having consequences for the global order itself," he said.

"It is this cumulative concern that BRICS is now discussing," he added.