New york: BRICS Foreign Ministers have called for inclusive, globally representative governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) under the United Nations, with meaningful participation from developing countries. The Foreign Affairs/International Relations Ministers held their annual meeting on the margins of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. The meeting was chaired by India in its capacity as the incoming BRICS Chair for 2026.
According to South African Government News Agency, in a joint statement, the Ministers emphasized that AI should serve ‘for good and for all,’ taking into account national policies, sovereignty, data protection, equitable access to resources, and innovation. They encouraged leveraging AI to address social, economic, linguistic, and cultural challenges, while supporting capacity building in developing countries.
The Ministers looked forward to BRICS cooperation to help developing countries strengthen AI capacity building, as stated in their joint declaration. They also underscored the transformative impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on socioeconomic growth and digital transformation in BRICS nations. There was a reiterated support for a safe, open, secure, and interoperable ICT environment, while advocating for global norms and legal frameworks to prevent cybercrime, malicious software, disinformation, and misuse of digital technologies.
Highlighting the peaceful application of science and technology, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to international cooperation in areas such as health, vaccine development, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, nuclear medicine, and traditional medicine systems. They welcomed intra-BRICS initiatives, including digital health cooperation, vaccine manufacturing, and knowledge sharing.
On space security, the Ministers reiterated support for the prevention of an arms race and the weaponization of outer space, including the adoption of legally binding agreements and confidence-building measures to ensure global security. They also called for accelerated negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and its Annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing.
The statement recognized BRICS’ role in fostering innovation, technological cooperation, Industry 4.0 initiatives, and startup engagement, as well as promoting ICT and AI for inclusive economic growth. The Ministers noted the BRICS expansion process according to the BRICS Membership Expansion Guiding Principles, Standards, Criteria, and Procedures, adopted at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to consolidate and strengthen BRICS in line with the group’s spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration, continuity, full consultation, and consensus. They emphasized the importance of partner countries contributing to BRICS cooperation in accordance with the Modalities of BRICS Partner Country Category adopted during the BRICS Summit at Kazan, Russia.
They reaffirmed that institutional development is a continuous and dynamic process that should reflect the group’s needs and priorities. They took note of the need to establish a common BRICS database to facilitate access to relevant documents and background information. The Ministers underscored their strong belief that extending the BRICS partnership with Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) would further contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity and true international cooperation for the benefit of all.