‘UNSC Reforms Can No Longer Wait’: PM Modi Outlines 10 Proposals to End ‘Pyramid of Privilege’ at BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes that the two-day annual BRICS summit will deliberate on protecting developing economies from the global impact of wars in Ukraine and West Asia. | Photo Credit: -

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday officially declared the BRICS Summit, 2026 open with ten proposals to upend the global “pyramid of privilege” for a select few countries into a “platform of partnership” for everyone. He asserted that the reforms in the UN Security Council can no longer be delayed.

Exhorting the gathering that included the top leadership of BRICs – Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto among others -- to steer the Global South towards becoming a “rule shaper” to deal with various challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoped that the two-day annual BRICS summit will deliberate on protecting developing economies from the global impact of wars in Ukraine and West Asia.

PM Modi also called for immediate reform of the UN Security Council. “The UNSC reforms can no longer wait,” he said.

Modi called for a major overhaul of global governance, proposing that the eleven-member BRICS bloc prepare a `10-point Reform Roadmap’ to make international institutions more representative, responsive and inclusive, with countries driving global economic growth given a greater role in shaping global rules.

“Those countries that give momentum to global economic growth should also get due role in giving direction to global economic governance,” the PM said.

The PM’s observations are significant given the fact that India’s economic growth is one of the fastest among major economies.

Efforts need to be made to make the Global South move from being rule-takers to rule-shapers, Modi said. “Through BRICS, we can provide negotiation skills, practical training, and legal expertise to young diplomats and policy-makers of Global South countries,” he added.

Modi said the current global governance structure resembled a “pyramid”, with power and decision-making concentrated at the top while countries affected by these decisions remained largely at the bottom.

“The Global South is at the front row of global crises, but at the back row of decision-making,” he said, calling for the pyramid to be transformed into a “privileged platform of partnership” where every country has a voice and every member has a stake.

Modi proposed that BRICS jointly prepare ten proposals for global governance reform and give them the form of a `BRICS Reform Roadmap’ by the next summit. He identified three key areas for the roadmap — representation, responsiveness and rule-making.

On representation, Modi said reform of the United Nations Security Council could no longer be stalled and called for text-based negotiations to be linked to a definite timeline and clear outcome. He also called for the voting power, leadership positions and policy priorities of international financial institutions to be reviewed in line with today’s economic realities.