PTI
New Delhi
In a strategic balancing act triggered by escalating global trade tensions, India is leveraging the two-day BRICS summit starting Saturday to position the grouping as a complementary engine for economic growth while championing the Global South’s core developmental priorities – most notably safeguarding food, energy, and supply chain security.
With New Delhi putting the finishing touches on the summit, China has confirmed President Xi Jinping’s attendance, marking his first trip to India after a seven-year gap.
He had earlier visited Goa in 2016 to attend the BRICS summit and made his first visit to India in September 2014, when he held extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 2014 visit came during the first terms of both leaders.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto are among the top leaders attending the crucial meet in the national capital.
Modi on Thursday shared a video clip featuring a montage of visuals of the decorated Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the BRICS Summit, and the preparations for the mega conclave. The nearly 30-second video, pepped up with catchy background music, was shared by the Prime Minister on Instagram, X and other social media platforms.
“All set for BRICS 2026! @brics2026,” Modi posted.
India is steering the BRICS grouping as a vital complementary platform to champion the Global South’s core developmental priorities, top Indian officials said on Thursday.
As global trade disputes and geopolitical realignments create economic headwinds, we are looking at addressing critical vulnerabilities in food security, energy stability, and resilient supply chains, they said.
The summit in New Delhi is taking place against the backdrop of a global economy facing the adverse impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, the West Asia crisis, especially the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration’s trade and tariff policies.
With just two days left before the summit, it remains unclear whether the member nations of the grouping reached consensus on a joint statement, as differences between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the West Asia crisis persist. The grouping operates under a framework of consensus.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became BRICS partner countries last year.
BRICS has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
India’s chairship of the grouping centred on the four pillars: resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.
The leaders will exchange views on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities and share perspectives on global and regional matters of mutual importance, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Under India’s chairship this year, over 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held in over 25 cities across the country to further strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership across three fundamental pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
India has previously held its chairship in 2012, 2016 and 2021. India assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on January 1, 2026.
