Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Russia for the 16th BRICS summit, which China’s President Xi Jinping and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa also attended, besides the host, President Vladimir Putin and newly joined member countries from middle-east and Africa. At an interaction with a group of foreign journalists here, Putin said the doors of BRICS were not closed to new members. He also asserted that asserted that the grouping is not “anti-West”, but is just “non-West”, also recalled that this is member state India’s stand.
BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the original five members who were large, non-Western economies. On January 1 this year, BRICS admitted four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The organization now represents almost half the world’s population and almost one quarter of the world’s economy. Nearly three dozen states from the Global South want to join BRICS. But the western countries largely think of BRICS as a grouping of non-Western countries, which can act as a counterweight to institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, dominated by the Global North. The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper. The paper projected that Brazil, Russia, India, and China would be among the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.
This summit becomes important as Russia is facing increased pressure from the West, the meetings underline the importance New Delhi gives to traditionally strong India-Russia ties. For Vladimir Putin, the gathering of so many world leaders in Russia is a message to the West that its attempts to isolate Moscow amid the Ukraine war have not succeeded. The geopolitical tensions have made the whole world excessively anxious and unstable. In all this mayhem, India’s global positioning is unparalleled. India’s leadership role in the Global South, its stabilizing relations with China, and its strong relations across G7 nations, with Canada being a notable exception succinctly captures India’s unique global positioning.
The Kazan Summit was the first-ever meeting of BRICS+ and leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE participated. Saudi Arabia has yet to formalize its membership, but its foreign minister participated in the Summit. The entry of these states has both pros and cons. Most of the new states are oil-producing and Islamic states from West Asia and Africa. With new members, BRICS’ economic and political clout will multiply. Now, the BRICS+ represents, in equal measure, top energy-producing and consuming countries. It creates an environment for negotiations on energy corridors in the future. However, the expansion of BRICS foreshadows some trouble, too.
The countries of the Global South are witnesses to the fate of NAM and G77, which still exist but carry little value. Moreover, the organisation could end up reflecting the broader rivalries among members. There is a genuine concern that geopolitical rivalry in West Asia may adversely impact its functioning.
Regarding de-dollarization, Russia appeared keen to develop an alternate payment system for intra-BRICS trade. Russia has been kicked out of the SWIFT system and it wants to urgently develop an alternative payment system. NDB is a multilateral development bank established by BRICS with the purpose of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries.
BRICS remains important for geopolitical balancing and for strategic maneuvering. An unanticipated outcome of the Kazan Summit was that Beijing and New Delhi agreed to a pact to settle the border dispute in Eastern Ladakh hours before the Summit. This pact culminated in a formal Modi-Xi meeting at Kazan. It might herald a new beginning in the ties between the two states, at least for a few years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement at the closed plenary sought to allay some concerns about this challenge, describing BRICS as an inclusive, “not a divisive organization but one that works in the interest of humanity”. Given that India is the only member of BRICS that is also a part of U.S.-led arrangements (the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework), this is a necessary balance. His oft-repeated phrases, that India supports “dialogue and diplomacy, not war”, and that there are “no solutions on the battlefield”, were a necessary reminder that all members do not completely align on geopolitics. Apart from the substance of the summit, the BRICS grouping also accords its members a stage to discuss stormy bilateral issues, given differences between members, including Iran-UAE and Egypt-Ethiopia. The détentes between India and China over Doklam, and agreement on resolving the four-year LAC standoff, were both held in meetings between Mr. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the side-lines of BRICS summits.
India is also a big customer of Russian oil, much to the West’s chagrin. The US and its western allies have been supporting Ukraine and working to hurt Russia in trade. India has said it will buy oil from anywhere it gets a good deal, which will benefit the citizens of India. Russia has touted the BRICS Summit as a diplomatic triumph that shows Western attempts to isolate Moscow over the Ukraine conflict have failed. The US has dismissed the idea that BRICS could become a “geopolitical rival” but has expressed concern over Moscow flexing its diplomatic muscle as the Ukraine conflict rages. Moscow has steadily advanced on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year while strengthening ties with China, Iran and North Korea — three of Washington’s adversaries. By gathering BRICS leaders in Kazan, the Kremlin has aimed to show that not only is Russia not isolated, it has partners and allies. This time, the Kremlin wants to show an “alternative to Western pressure and that the multipolar world is a reality.
At the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia, the bloc announced an expanded membership, welcoming new countries from the Middle East and Africa. Leaders, including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, reaffirmed BRICS’ commitment to being an inclusive alliance focused on global cooperation rather than opposing the West. The summit also underscored the organization’s growing influence, with Modi reiterating India’s support for dialogue and diplomacy, while Putin highlighted BRICS’ role as a platform for multipolar collaboration in a rapidly changing world.
