BRICS Leaders Gather in New Delhi as Wars and US Tensions Test Unity

Leaders of the BRICS nations convened in New Delhi on Saturday for a summit centred on trade, investment and global conflicts, as the expanded bloc presses for a larger voice in shaping the international agenda for emerging and developing economies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and counterparts from the grouping's other members. The meeting unfolds against the wars in Ukraine and West Asia and mounting US-China friction, which together test the bloc's capacity to locate common ground among states with divergent geopolitical interests.

Security was heavy across the capital, with thousands of police and paramilitary personnel deployed around the venue and other parts of New Delhi, alongside traffic restrictions and diversions.

BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, and South Africa joined in 2010. It has since grown to 11 members, accounting for roughly half the world's population and a substantial share of global economic output. The group has repeatedly pressed for stronger representation of developing countries in global institutions.

Discussions are expected to cover economic cooperation, energy, food security, technology, supply chains and reform of global institutions. Lowering dependence on the US dollar is also set to feature prominently, with members encouraging greater use of their own currencies in trade and payments and seeking alternatives to Western-dominated financial bodies.

For India, the summit underscores its effort to sustain strategic ties with Russia and Iran while deepening relations with the United States and Europe. New Delhi has sought to balance its long-standing partnerships with Moscow and Tehran against its drive to expand economic, defence and technology cooperation with Washington and other Western nations.

India has kept up close relations with both Moscow and Tehran despite the war in Ukraine and tensions between Iran and the United States, while advocating dialogue and diplomacy to settle conflicts. Modi met Putin and Pezeshkian separately in New Delhi on Friday, a day before the summit opened.

The gathering also places the bloc's cohesion under strain, as Iran — a member of the expanded grouping — is directly involved in the war in West Asia, leaving members to navigate differing positions on the conflict and on relations with Washington.

A central question for India is whether it can shepherd the leaders to a joint statement. Divisions were on display in May, when BRICS foreign ministers could not agree on a joint statement over the Iran war, leaving India to issue a chair's summary instead.