NEW DELHI: India is hosting the BRICS summit in New Delhi this weekend as leaders and senior officials from major emerging economies gather against the backdrop of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, growing geopolitical tensions and debate over the future of the global economic and financial order. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, while Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan are scheduled to arrive in the Indian capital on Saturday. India, a founding member of BRICS and this year’s chair, is seeking to use the summit as a platform for discussions on global economic cooperation, trade, international security and the changing balance of power. BRICS was established in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China as a forum for major emerging economies seeking a greater role in international institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers. South Africa later joined the group, while Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia have joined in recent years, significantly expanding the bloc’s economic and political reach. The enlarged grouping now represents nearly half of the world’s population, around 40 percent of global gross domestic product and about 26 percent of international trade. Modi said he expected the summit to produce positive and meaningful discussions on a range of issues and contribute to efforts aimed at global welfare. However, the meeting is taking place under considerable geopolitical pressure. The war in Ukraine and the continuing conflict in the Middle East have reshaped trade routes, energy markets, diplomatic relations and security calculations across the world. The ongoing confrontation involving Iran and the United States, including recent attacks affecting shipping, is expected to add particular urgency to discussions among BRICS leaders. Iran has increasingly presented the grouping as a platform for challenging unilateralism and reducing dependence on Western-dominated economic structures. Before leaving for India, Pezeshkian said BRICS had been formed to confront unilateralism, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. He also argued that initiatives such as the bloc’s multilateral development bank were intended to provide an alternative to what Tehran sees as excessive US influence over the international financial system. One of the major economic issues expected to feature in BRICS discussions is the search for alternatives to the US-dominated payment and financial system, including efforts to reduce reliance on the US dollar in international trade. Yet analysts caution that the bloc faces significant internal differences and may struggle to translate its economic ambitions into major changes to the global financial system. Amit Kumar, a research analyst at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, said BRICS had focused on developing alternatives to the US-led financial system, but argued that the group’s ability to make a significant contribution to the global economic order remained limited. He pointed to China’s trade policies and India’s increasingly important relationship with the United States as factors that could restrict deeper coordination within the bloc. The summit also carries particular significance for relations between India and China. Xi’s visit is his first to India since 2019 and comes after relations deteriorated following deadly border clashes between the two countries in 2020. Modi and Xi are expected to meet on the sidelines of the summit as New Delhi and Beijing work to ease tensions and restore aspects of their bilateral relationship. Their meeting will be closely watched because both countries are major BRICS members while also competing for strategic influence across Asia and maintaining important economic ties with the United States and other major powers. Saudi Arabia’s participation adds another dimension to the gathering, reflecting the growing role of Middle Eastern economies within the expanded BRICS framework. The summit therefore brings together countries with differing positions on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as varying relationships with Washington, Moscow and Beijing. While many members share an interest in expanding economic cooperation and reducing their exposure to Western financial institutions, they do not necessarily agree on how far BRICS should challenge the existing international order. The New Delhi summit is consequently expected to test how much political and economic coordination the expanded grouping can achieve at a time of major international instability. Discussions are likely to focus on global trade, financial cooperation, the role of the dollar, geopolitical conflicts and efforts to strengthen cooperation among emerging economies. Whether the leaders can move beyond broad political statements and agree on concrete measures will be closely watched as BRICS seeks to define its role in an increasingly divided global system.
BRICS summit in Delhi hosted by Modi, Putin-Xi-Pezeshkian in focus
