Shekhawat Addresses 100+ Young Leaders at BRICS CCI Dialogue 3.0
Synopsis
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat addressed more than 100 students, professionals, and emerging leaders from India and BRICS Plus nations at the BRICS CCI Youth Leadership Dialogue 3.0 in New Delhi on International Youth Day, 12 August 2026.
Key Takeaways
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat participated in the BRICS CCI Youth Leadership Dialogue 3.0 in New Delhi on 12 August 2026 .
Over 100 students, professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, and emerging leaders from India and the BRICS Plus community attended.
The event was held on International Youth Day , a UN-designated annual observance on 12 August.
BRICS CCI leadership present included President Sameep Shastri , Chairman Emeritus Dr.
Madhukar , and Director General Pran Sharma .
The dialogue is part of India's broader strategy of using BRICS mechanisms to deepen people-to-people ties across the Global South.
On International Youth Day, 12 August 2026, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stepped into a room in New Delhi filled with more than 100 students, professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, and emerging leaders from India and the wider BRICS Plus community — and the conversation that followed captured exactly where India's multilateral ambitions are headed.
The occasion was the BRICS CCI Youth Leadership Dialogue 3.0, organised by the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BRICS CCI). Shekhawat was joined on the platform by Sameep Shastri, President of BRICS CCI Young Leaders; Dr. B.B.L. Madhukar, Chairman Emeritus of BRICS CCI; and Pran Sharma, Director General of BRICS CCI — a line-up that brought together the organisation's senior leadership alongside its next generation.
Why a Youth Dialogue on India's Diplomatic Calendar
The United Nations designated 12 August as International Youth Day to spotlight the role of young people in shaping global futures. Holding a BRICS-linked leadership dialogue on this date is a deliberate signal: that India sees youth engagement not as a soft add-on to multilateral diplomacy, but as a load-bearing pillar of it. The BRICS CCI operates as a parallel track to official summitry — running business and leadership programmes that keep the BRICS network active between heads-of-government meetings. With the grouping's expansion into BRICS Plus, that network now stretches well beyond the original five founding economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, widening the pool of young professionals this kind of dialogue can draw from and influence.India's People-to-People Play in the Global South
India has consistently used BRICS mechanisms to project leadership among Global South nations — and youth exchanges are a core part of that strategy. When India held the BRICS presidency in 2021, people-to-people and youth engagement were explicitly foregrounded alongside economic cooperation. Dialogue 3.0 sits inside that longer arc: each iteration building institutional memory, personal networks, and — crucially — a cohort of young leaders who have shared a platform under an Indian minister's watch. For Shekhawat, a senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, appearing at a multilateral youth forum underlines the government's intent to place cultural and people-to-people diplomacy at the centre of India's foreign-facing narrative, not just its trade or security posture. The next BRICS Summit and any follow-up programming announced by BRICS CCI Young Leaders will reveal whether Dialogue 3.0 translates into concrete institutional outcomes — or whether the momentum stays in the room.Point of View
Creating networks of emerging leaders who carry an India-shaped experience into their careers. With BRICS Plus expanding the grouping's geographic footprint, these people-to-people investments carry greater diplomatic leverage than their ceremonial surface suggests. For the BJP government, placing a senior cabinet minister at such an event on International Youth Day is also a domestic signal — that India's global ambitions are youth-facing and forward-looking. Whether Dialogue 3.0 produces a concrete follow-up programme will be the real measure of its strategic weight.
NationPress
12 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the BRICS CCI Youth Leadership Dialogue?
The BRICS CCI Youth Leadership Dialogue is a programme run by the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry that brings together young students, professionals, researchers, and entrepreneurs from BRICS and BRICS Plus nations to share ideas and build leadership networks.
Who is Gajendra Singh Shekhawat?
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is India's Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, a senior BJP leader, and a Lok Sabha MP representing Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
What is International Youth Day and when is it observed?
International Youth Day is a United Nations-designated annual observance on 12 August that highlights the importance of youth development and participation in global affairs.
Why does India engage with BRICS CCI youth programmes?
India uses BRICS CCI platforms to deepen people-to-people ties and project leadership within the Global South, a strategy that was foregrounded during India's BRICS presidency in 2021 and has continued through targeted youth and professional engagement events.
