BRICS Trade Ministers adopt the Joint Declaration and its four Annexes, and finalise the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030 for submission to the Leaders at the New Delhi Summit

Modi Government safeguards the interests of India's farmers, securing food security, public stockholding and Special and Differential Treatment in the multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core

Jaipur Consensus and Guiding Principles for MSME credit adopted to close the trade finance gap and expand small businesses' access to global markets

India champions balanced and expanding trade among BRICS, greater trade in services, and resilient and diversified global value chains

The 16th BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting concluded successfully today at the Sawai Man Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan, under India's BRICS Chairship 2026. The Meeting was chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, and was attended by Shri Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and Shri Rajesh Agrawal, Commerce Secretary. Held under the overarching theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," the Meeting followed the Third Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI), held on 3 and 4 August 2026 in New Delhi.

The Meeting brought together Trade Ministers, Vice Ministers and Heads of Delegation from the BRICS member countries. The visiting dignitaries included H.E. Mr. Marcio Fernando Elias Rosa, Minister of State for Development, Industry, Commerce and Services of Brazil; H.E. Mr. Li Chenggang, China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce of China; H.E. Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt; Mr. Molalign Asfaw Ayana, Ambassador of Ethiopia; H.E. Dr. Budi Santoso, Minister of Trade of Indonesia; H.E. Dr. Mohammad Sadegh Mofatteh, First Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of Iran; H.E. Mr. Vladimir Evgenievich Ilichev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia; H.E. Mr. Parks Franklyn Mpho Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition of South Africa; and H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates.

The day opened with a cultural programme in Jaipur. Earlier in the day, the visiting Ministers and their delegations joined a walkthrough of the historic City Palace and a photo opportunity at the Hawa Mahal, followed by a group photograph at the Chandra Mahal, showcasing India's rich heritage and the living craft traditions of Rajasthan.

The Ministerial deliberations were then organised across two technical sessions. The first session, "Trade in a Changing World: Building Resilience Through BRICS Cooperation," opened with remarks by the Commerce Secretary on behalf of the Indian Chairship, followed by the adoption of the BRICS Ministerial Joint Declaration, the Welcome Address of the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and the Keynote Address of the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry. Trade Ministers of the member countries then shared their national perspectives. The second session, "Securing the Future: Fostering BRICS cooperation for a mutually beneficial Trade in Goods and Services," took up the future of BRICS economic cooperation, with the Chair's Remarks followed by the interventions of Ministers. The Meeting concluded with a summary by the Commerce Secretary on behalf of the Indian Chairship and the Concluding Remarks of the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, with Ministers thanking India for its hospitality and its leadership of the Chairship.

In his Keynote Address, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry underlined that BRICS accounts for a rising share of a world economy in transition, and that the grouping's answer to rising unilateralism and fragmentation is resilience, cooperation and reform. He reaffirmed India's vision of a reformed, development-oriented, member-driven and consensus-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core, Special and Differential Treatment preserved, and a fully functioning, two-tier and binding dispute settlement system restored. The Minister underlined that the most-favoured-nation principle, together with Special and Differential Treatment, remains the cornerstone of a fair, inclusive, non-discriminatory and rules-based order, and that reform must strengthen this cornerstone, not dilute it. He set out India's priorities for the Chairship: strengthening the multilateral trading system; building resilient and diversified global value chains; the internationalisation of MSMEs and their access to trade finance; and digitally delivered services.

Delivering the Welcome Address, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry welcomed the delegations to Jaipur in the spirit of Padharo Mhare Desh, and recalled that BRICS cooperation, guided by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of Humanity First, places people at its centre. He affirmed that the true promise of BRICS trade is a human one, felt in the fortunes of micro, small and medium enterprises, in women-led businesses, and in the energy of the youth of developing economies.

A central outcome of the Meeting was the firm safeguarding of the interests of India's farmers. The first Annex, on the Multilateral Trading System, affirms the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, with development at its centre, the preservation of Special and Differential Treatment, and the restoration of a fully functioning, two-tier and binding dispute settlement, alongside the policy space of developing economies for food security and public stockholding. This reflects India's consistent position that the food security and livelihood concerns of developing countries must be protected in the multilateral trading system.

The Meeting delivered a decisive push for small business entrepreneurs. Ministers issued the Jaipur Consensus to study a BRICS Invoice Discounting Mechanism, and adopted the Guiding Principles for Credit Assessment Frameworks for Export-Oriented MSMEs, so that a firm with an order book is judged by its cash flow and not only its collateral. These instruments respond directly to the global trade finance gap of about USD 2.5 trillion, which falls hardest on smaller enterprises, and form part of the Workplan on the Internationalisation of MSMEs adopted as the second Annex.

Ministers also advanced the opening and diversification of markets among BRICS. The Workplan on the BRICS Shared Understanding on Global Value Chains, adopted as the third Annex, carries the GVC Action Plan 2026-2030, a BRICS Technical Council, cooperation among Special Economic Zones, and the digitisation of trade documents, to make supply chains more resilient, more inclusive and more diversified. The BRICS Principles to Facilitate Digitally Delivered Services Across Borders, adopted as the fourth Annex, will help trusted and secure services flow across borders. Together with the pursuit of balanced and expanding trade among members, these outcomes place services and value chains at the frontier of the next decade of BRICS cooperation.

A landmark outcome of the Meeting was the finalisation of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030. Spanning the multilateral trading system, trade in services, the digital economy, industry, innovation and technology, trade and investment, financial cooperation and sustainable development, the Strategy was carried forward across the Brazilian Chairship of 2025 and finalised under the Indian Chairship of 2026. Ministers agreed to submit the Strategy, together with the priorities of the Joint Declaration, to the BRICS Leaders for endorsement at the New Delhi Summit in September 2026.

The 16th BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting marks a significant milestone under India's BRICS Chairship and reaffirms India's commitment to an open, inclusive, transparent, equitable and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. The outcomes of Jaipur, anchored in the interests of farmers and small enterprises and in the diversification of markets, contribute to India's vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and to a future of shared prosperity among emerging economies. India carries these outcomes forward to the Leaders, and looks ahead to China's BRICS Chairship in 2027.