BRICS Leaders Converge on New Delhi as Wars and US Tensions Test Bloc

Leaders of the BRICS nations gathered in New Delhi on Saturday for a summit centred on trade, investment and global conflicts, as the grouping pushes for a larger role in shaping the 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 bloc's other members. The meeting unfolds against the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and mounting US-China tensions, which together test the group's capacity to find common ground among countries with competing geopolitical interests.

Security was tight 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 increasingly pressed for greater representation of developing countries in global institutions.

Discussions are expected to cover economic cooperation, energy, food security, technology, supply chains and reforms to global institutions. Reducing reliance on the US dollar is also set to feature prominently, with members promoting greater use of their own currencies in trade and payments and pushing for alternatives to Western-dominated financial institutions.

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 longstanding partnerships with Moscow and Tehran against its drive to expand economic, defence and technology links with Washington and other Western nations.

India has maintained close relations with both Moscow and Tehran despite the war in Ukraine and tensions between Iran and the United States, while calling for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve conflicts. Modi met Putin and Pezeshkian separately in New Delhi on Friday ahead of the summit.

Iran, a member of the expanded grouping, is directly involved in the Middle East war, placing the bloc's unity under strain as members navigate differing positions on the conflict and their relations with Washington.

A key test for India will be whether it can secure a joint statement from the leaders. Divisions were on display in May, when BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement over the Iran war, forcing India to issue a chair's summary instead.