BRICS leaders arrive in India ahead of two-day summit as global conflicts set to take centre stage
BRICS Summit Opens in India With Wars and Economic Pressures in Focus
Poinews.com – New Delhi is preparing to host leaders from the BRICS grouping as major international conflicts, energy concerns and trade pressures shape the agenda for the two-day gathering. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Indian capital on Friday, ahead of talks expected to underline both the reach and the internal strains of the expanded 11-country bloc.
Putin was welcomed on arrival by India’s Minister of External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, together with an official reception party and photographers. He is due to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Friday, providing the two leaders with an opportunity to reinforce a strategic relationship that remains important to New Delhi.
The summit, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, brings together a group that presents itself as a platform for emerging markets and developing countries. Its members are Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
Conflicts likely to dominate discussions
The war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East are expected to be central subjects during the meeting. Their effects extend beyond diplomacy, influencing oil supplies, shipping routes, prices and trade decisions across many economies represented at the summit.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also reached India on Friday while the Iran war continues. His presence highlights the difficult balance BRICS faces: the organisation includes countries with differing strategic priorities and sharply varied views on regional crises.
Harsh V. Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation said tensions in the Gulf could become the key dividing issue at the gathering.
“The Gulf conflict would likely be the central fault line this time during the BRICS summit.”
Pant also pointed to the challenge created by the organisation’s larger membership. Expansion was previously viewed as a sign of BRICS’ growing influence, but the wider range of interests now makes common positions harder to achieve.
“What was seen until last year as an achievement -- the expansion of BRICS -- today looks like a big constraint on BRICS.”
China’s leader expected in New Delhi
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the summit from Saturday. The trip would mark his first visit to India since 2019, adding significance to an event already watched closely for signs of how leading Asian powers will engage with one another amid a turbulent global environment.
Modi indicated on Friday that India hopes the meeting will produce constructive exchanges on international issues. In a social-media post, he framed the summit as an opportunity for discussions intended to serve broader global interests.
“It is fully expected that the conference will feature positive and meaningful discussions on various issues, conducted with a view to global welfare.”
He added:
“With the virtuous, one may debate and share friendship; with the unvirtuous, one should have no dealings whatsoever.”
The comments came as India prepares to manage a complex diplomatic gathering involving countries with different positions on security, trade and the future shape of the international economic system.
Oil, trade and the value of consensus
Beyond armed conflict, delegates are expected to address oil markets and global commerce. These subjects are closely linked: instability in the Middle East can affect energy flows, while trade disputes and changing supply chains can have consequences for economies across the BRICS membership.
For India, hosting the summit places New Delhi at the centre of discussions among governments that collectively represent a substantial share of the world’s population and economic activity. The event also offers India a setting to maintain ties with a wide set of partners while promoting its own role in international decision-making.
Yet the diversity that gives BRICS its broad geographic reach may limit how far it can go in producing unified outcomes. Members have distinct regional concerns, diplomatic relationships and economic priorities. As a result, the value of the summit may rest less on sweeping agreements than on whether leaders can sustain dialogue during a period of overlapping crises.
A group expanded beyond its original membership
BRICS began with a summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. Originally associated with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, it has subsequently broadened its membership and added a further network of partner nations.
The group now lists Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam as partner countries. The expansion has strengthened BRICS’ claim to represent a wider set of developing and emerging economies, while also making coordination more complicated.
As leaders gather in New Delhi, the immediate test will be whether the organisation can find enough common ground on conflict, energy and trade to deliver a meaningful collective message. With Putin, Pezeshkian, Xi and other leaders expected to take part, the summit is set to reflect the competing pressures facing a bloc seeking greater influence in an unsettled world.
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