Inside the 100-Hour Push That Delivered the BRICS Consensus on West Asia

A joint declaration on the war in West Asia emerged from the BRICS summit only after nearly 100 hours of down-to-the-wire negotiations by Indian diplomats, who worked to reconcile sharply divergent positions held by Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

The groundwork was laid well before the leaders gathered. At the first BRICS Sherpas' meeting in New Delhi from February 9 to 11, India outlined its priorities as chair. Those plans were upended when war broke out on February 28. By the second Sherpas' meeting, held May 11 to 13, officials described a shift in atmosphere, with the Iranian and Emirati delegations unable to find common ground. Days later, at the Foreign Ministers' meeting on May 14 and 15, the only outcome was a statement recording "differing views among some members" on West Asia, alongside each member's respective national position.

Indian officials then began a sustained outreach. BRICS Sherpa Sudhakar Dalela, assisted by Sous Sherpa Shambhu Lingappa Hakki and Joint Secretaries Rajiv Bodwade and Dr Basir Ahmad, along with Director Mini Devi Kumam, approached counterparts across member states. The team drew on Dalela's background in trade and economic policy and Hakki's experience in China and fluency in Mandarin, backed by the wider expertise of the Multilateral Economic Relations wing of the Ministry of External Affairs.

A 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which later lapsed in August, opened a window of opportunity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed discussed the matter during Modi's visit to the UAE on May 15, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian raised it in a call with Modi on June 22. In parallel, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke with his Iranian and Emirati counterparts, and NSA Ajit Doval reached out to his counterparts during the BRICS NSAs meeting on June 22 and 23. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal and his counterpart in Iran, Rudra Gaurav Shresth, were tasked with approaching their host capitals.

Positions hardened on both sides, with red lines firmly drawn. A chance to meet Pezeshkian came during Modi's visit to Bishkek for the SCO leaders' summit from August 30 to September 1. Pezeshkian was told that, as a new BRICS member, Iran would not benefit if the grouping failed to reach consensus, and that his first visit to India should be part of a successful summit. Tehran wanted the matter raised at the leaders' level and said it would revert after consulting its top leadership, particularly the IRGC and Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who hold the final word on foreign and strategic policy in wartime.

Within days, Tehran responded that it was willing to go the extra mile, reasoning that it should not be blamed for a war started by the Americans. Officials described this as the first breakthrough, which gave momentum to talks with the UAE, whose enthusiasm had been more limited. In the final days, Sherpas worked overtime, projecting sentences and paragraphs on a screen in Delhi as they argued over formulations. Changes were made, suggestions accepted or struck down, and any sentence lacking consensus was flagged in square brackets until agreement was reached. Central to the outcome was that neither the United States nor Iran could be named.

China and Russia stepped in during the final countdown, with Brazil and Egypt playing supporting roles with both sides. The Iranians had come around, but the Chinese and Russians leaned on the UAE to sign off on the language, a diplomat said. Hanging over the talks was the possibility of no joint declaration at all, which would have been portrayed by Western countries as a failure. It was therefore in the interest of both the UAE and Iran, and China and Russia helped convince them.

The result was Paragraph 28, which expressed deep concern over continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East and West Asia and, recalling respective national positions, called for maximum restraint and the avoidance of actions that could aggravate the situation. The declaration acknowledged the sensitivities of both sides by flagging territorial sovereignty and the need to protect civilian lives and infrastructure, a nod to the UAE, which has faced Iranian strikes on its cities and which Tehran calls a proxy of the United States.

The text urged protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interconnectedness, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. It encouraged greater efforts through dialogue and diplomacy towards a long-term understanding contributing to lasting peace, security and stability in the region, and stressed the need to work together to maintain the smooth flow of global trade, supply chains and energy in accordance with applicable international law.

Unlike the G20 declaration of September 2023, New Delhi did not have a large, dedicated secretariat this time. The negotiating team was essentially the MER division of the MEA, led by Secretary (Economic Relations) Dalela. Of the 12 diplomats and officials in the 31-member division, five played key roles.

Dalela, a 1993-batch IFS officer, began his career in Tel Aviv and speaks Hebrew. He has served in missions in Brasilia, Chicago, Dhaka, Geneva, Thimphu and Washington DC, and was Ambassador to Bhutan from 2022 to 2025. He was also Director in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Office from 2009 to 2011, Director (Trade Policy), and twice served at India's Permanent Mission to the WTO, including as Deputy Permanent Representative from 2014 to 2016. In the US, he was Consul General in Chicago, Minister for Political Affairs from 2011 to 2014, and Deputy Chief of Mission from 2020 to 2022.

Hakki, Sous Sherpa and Joint Secretary (MER and G20), joined the Foreign Service in 2008 and served as Consul General in Guangzhou from 2021 to 2025, besides postings in Beijing and Washington. Fluent in Mandarin, he also runs a YouTube channel with over 60 videos of him performing various ragas, describing himself as a practitioner of Hindustani classical music drawn to a universal language that transcends barriers.

Dr Basir Ahmed, Joint Secretary in the MER division, is a 2009-batch IFS officer and a doctor by training who was Deputy Chief of Mission in Indonesia and served at India's Permanent Mission in Geneva. Rajiv Bodwade, also Joint Secretary in the MER division, is a 2009-batch IFS officer who was Deputy Chief of Mission in Israel during the October 7 attacks and has served as Deputy Chief of Protocol in Delhi. Mini Devi Kumam, Director in the MER division, is a 2011-batch IFS officer who has served in Vietnam and at India's Permanent Mission in Geneva.