The Indian capital, New Delhi, will host BRICS leaders on Saturday and Sunday, 12 and 13 September, for a summit dominated by the impact of the war in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, as well as trade, energy and economic cooperation among member states.
Modi’s meetings with Putin, Pezeshkian and Xi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Indian diplomatic sources also expect Modi to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the two-day meeting. The war on Iran and its impact on oil and gas prices are expected to feature prominently in the discussions.
Shilan Shah, an economist at Capital Economics, described the war as a test of the group’s cohesion, noting that BRICS foreign ministers were unable to issue a joint statement in May because of differing positions among members on the Middle East.
The divide is evident between Russia and China, which continue to trade with Iran despite US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose sanctions, and other members of the bloc, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose territories have been hit by Iranian strikes since the war in the Middle East began. Harsh Pant of the government-affiliated Observer Research Foundation said he expected the conflict to be the main fault line at the summit.
India, for its part, maintains friendly relations with Iran while seeking to preserve a delicate balance in its ties with Washington. The Iranian president called on the United States to return to the negotiating table during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Kyrgyzstan in early September, attended by the Chinese and Russian presidents.
Russian proposals for settlements and joint investment
On the economic front, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would hold bilateral and multilateral meetings during the summit. He added that several group members faced what he described as illegal pressure and restrictions from third parties, and were seeking to develop mechanisms for mutual settlements and joint investment platforms.
The summit comes six months after Putin’s last visit to India, as New Delhi continues to import Russian oil despite US sanctions. The United States says revenue from these exports helps Moscow finance its war against Ukraine. Modi, who has not publicly condemned the Russian invasion, urged Putin at the latest Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to find a way out of the conflict, a call welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Xi’s first visit to India in six years
Xi Jinping’s participation carries added significance, as it will be his first visit to India since 2019, six years after a deadly military confrontation along the disputed border in the Himalayas. The visit comes amid gradual rapprochement between the neighbouring rival countries.
The BRICS forum was established in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India and China, before South Africa joined and the group later expanded to include countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
