New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- India on Monday urged the Brics grouping to focus on stabilising the global economy and world order while opposing unfair trade practices and increased barriers at a virtual summit of the bloc of emerging economies convened to discuss the impact of the tariff policies of the Trump administration in the US. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who represented the Indian government at the meeting convened by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the current chair of Brics, also called for the protection of the global trading system based on an open, fair, non-discriminatory and rules-based approach. The Indian side further called on the 10-member grouping, which also includes China, Iran and Russia, to address the impact of conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia on the Global South and to back the reform of multilateralism. Both India and Brazil have been hit with 50% tariffs by the Trump administration, among the highest in the world. Jaishankar noted in his address that the multilateral system "appears to be failing" following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, major conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, volatility in trade and investment flows and extreme climate events, and said: "Today, the focus is on stabilising the international economy and the world order." He added, "The international trading system is based on the foundational principles of open, fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, inclusive, equitable and a rules-based approach ."...