More heft: On India and the 18th BRICS Summit
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit, facing the complex challenge of managing a diverse and expanded coalition amidst global conflicts and geopolitical friction with the United States. The summit serves as a test of Indian diplomacy as it attempts to balance its international relationships while navigating the group's lack of consensus.
Why it matters
The summit highlights the shifting dynamics of global power and the difficulty of maintaining multilateral cooperation in a polarized geopolitical environment.
Forging a joint statement at a major multilateral conference, in the midst of global conflicts where members are involved is never easy — for India, hosting the BRICS Summit in Delhi is the second time in recent years, since the G-20 Summit in 2023, that it has had to shoulder such a responsibility. That, however, is not the only reason India’s BRICS presidency comes at a difficult time. The past few occasions India has hosted the coalition of emerging economies — in 2012, 2016 and virtually in 2021 — it was a smaller grouping of just five major powers, where managing consensus was easier. Since the expansion in 2024 — adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — and Indonesia’s induction in 2025, BRICS’ identity has evolved, but a common focus remains elusive. In addition, global conflicts involving BRICS members have grown.
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