The BRICS leaders from the nations gathered this Saturday, the 12th, in New Delhi, the Indian capital, for a summit focused on trade, investment and global conflicts, as the bloc seeks a larger role in shaping the global agenda for emerging and developing countries.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and colleagues from the other eight BRICS members.
The summit comes as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with rising tensions between the United States and China, test the bloc’s ability to find common ground among countries with competing geopolitical interests.
Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were mobilized around the summit venue and in other parts of New Delhi, with restrictions and traffic diversions in effect. Saturday’s discussions began with a speech by the Indian prime minister, who sought to ease concerns that BRICS was aimed at opposing Western-led alliances, while portraying the bloc as a platform for emerging and developing economies to have a greater voice in global affairs.
“BRICS is not against anyone,” he said, adding that the bloc had reached a moment of “maturity” in which the Global South should evolve into a “rule-maker” in global governance. “It is time to translate our unity and consensus in BRICS into concrete results,” he said.
Modi also proposed a BRICS sailors network to strengthen the safety and well-being of seafarers, particularly as disruptions to maritime trade due to the war in Iran increased the risks for sailors.
Leaders are expected to discuss economic cooperation, energy, food security, technology, supply chains and reforms of global institutions. Reducing dependence on the American dollar will also be a priority, with members promoting greater use of their own currencies in trade and payments, in addition to pressing for alternatives to Western-dominated financial institutions.
*Content translated with the aid of Artificial Intelligence, reviewed and edited by the Broadcast Editorial Team, the real-time news system of Grupo Estado
