BRICS In Delhi: Can India Turn A Diverse Bloc Into Strategic Influence?
· Free Press Journal
The BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13 will test whether an expanded BRICS can translate its growing political weight into a coherent voice on global crises, trade, finance, and security. For India, it is an opportunity to demonstrate strategic autonomy and shape the international order.
India has chaired BRICS in 2012, 2016, and 2021. The present chairmanship carries the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability”. The formulation reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s people-centric, humanity-first approach. The challenge is converting it into outcomes despite sharply divergent interests.
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The Delhi Test: The Summit will bring together an 11-member grouping—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia—along with 10 partner countries. More than 350 BRICS meetings have been held in over 25 Indian cities during the chairmanship. The Summit will culminate this exercise.
The agenda will cover financial reform, local currencies, trade, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, climate change, food and energy security, terrorism, and development finance. Wars, sanctions, and supply-chain disruptions have made resilience a practical priority. Cooperation on critical minerals, agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing could give the theme economic substance.
Innovation also matters. India can promote cooperation through its Digital Public Infrastructure experience, while the New Development Bank could expand local-currency lending.
America Watches Carefully: Washington is likely to view the Delhi Summit cautiously. BRICS’ expansion and the growing Chinese and Russian influence could challenge the existing global economic order, particularly if the grouping reduces dependence on the dollar or develops alternative financial mechanisms.
Yet, Washington is unlikely to confront India directly because of their strategic partnership. New Delhi can reassure it that the presidency seeks stronger Global South cooperation and institutional reform, not an anti-American alliance.
The Iran Factor: The escalating US-Iran confrontation could cast a shadow over the Summit. Iran’s presence brings the issue into the BRICS room, with consequences for energy security, trade, and regional stability.
India faces a delicate balance. It has longstanding ties with Iran, interests in Chabahar, and energy concerns, while maintaining strategic and economic ties with the United States. Delhi, therefore, cannot afford to become a party to an escalating confrontation. Its best approach would be to favour dialogue, protect legitimate trade and energy flows, and press for diplomacy rather than bloc confrontation.
Xi’s Presence and the China Question: The expected attendance of Chinese President Xi Jinping gives the Summit additional significance. If confirmed, it would be his first visit to India in seven years and his first since the 2020 border crisis transformed bilateral relations. His presence could give Modi an opportunity for engagement.
But India should not mistake Summit diplomacy for a settlement of the border dispute. The Himalayan boundary remains the central concern. Economic competition, China’s South Asian influence, and regional security differences will continue. Direct dialogue could, nevertheless, help stabilise relations.
The presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian would undermine its geopolitical importance. India must preserve its independent position rather than allow any power to dominate the conversation.
Bangladesh and the Hasina Shadow: Bangladesh presents another diplomatic test. Dhaka’s participation in Summit outreach comes when relations with India remain strained, particularly over Sheikh Hasina, who is in India and whose extradition has been sought by Dhaka.
India should persuade Bangladesh that the Hasina question must not overshadow priorities. Bangladesh’s economic future, connectivity, energy security, and ties with India are too important to be reduced to one issue.
India must avoid dictating Dhaka’s choices. Quiet diplomacy should allow the Hasina issue to proceed through legal and diplomatic channels, while broader interests continue. Delhi must ensure the dispute does not obstruct Bangladesh’s participation.
BRICS’ Internal Contradictions: BRICS’ fundamental challenge is its lack of strategic coherence. Expansion has increased its weight but united countries with conflicting interests. Russia and Iran confront the West, while other members retain Western relationships. China and India are strategic competitors even as they share an interest in greater Global South representation.
The difficulty is already evident. The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New Delhi in May ended without a joint communiqué over differences on the West Asia crisis, forcing India to issue a chair’s statement. It showed how difficult it is for an enlarged BRICS to speak with one voice.
A second challenge is the danger of BRICS becoming an anti-American or anti-Western coalition. Several favour a multipolar order without seeking confrontation with Washington or Europe. Its credibility will depend on reforming global institutions without becoming an instrument of geopolitical rivalry.
A third challenge is de-dollarisation. Local currencies and alternative payment mechanisms may reduce transaction costs, but replacing the dollar is far harder. Different monetary systems, convertibility, and financial rules make a common BRICS currency unrealistic for now.
A fourth challenge is managing expansion. Eleven members and ten partners give BRICS greater representation but make consensus harder. It must clarify their roles and allow cooperation despite political disagreements.
India’s Strategic Opportunity: For India, the Summit is a test. Having hosted the G20 in September 2023, Delhi now has another opportunity to demonstrate its convening power. China is scheduled to take over the chairmanship in 2027.
India’s objective should go beyond a declaration. It should strengthen its global voice, expand economic opportunities, promote resilient supply chains, protect energy interests, improve ties with neighbours, and keep channels open with China and Russia.
Above all, India must show that BRICS can be a platform for cooperation rather than confrontation. Its credibility will depend on managing differences without destroying common interests.
Delhi has the stage. The test is whether India can turn it into a strategic influence.
Writer is strategic affairs columnist and senior political analyst based in Shimla.