The View From India: BRICS as a Strategic Balancer

Source: The Hindu | Original Published At: 2026-09-14 08:45:38 UTC

Key Points

• India hosted the 18th BRICS summit in Delhi on September 12-13 amid an ongoing and widening conflict in West Asia.
• The summit produced consensus despite internal disagreements, particularly between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
• The Delhi Declaration strongly criticized Israel's actions in Lebanon and Palestine, particularly in Gaza, and referenced South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
• The declaration did not mention the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, or Iran's strikes on neighboring countries, including the UAE.
• BRICS consensus focused on economic development priorities such as food, fuel, and fertilizer security, trade, and countering Western sanctions and tariffs.
• The article notes that BRICS does not share a uniform vision like the G7 but is held together by a common view that the current international order is imbalanced, unfair, and unjust.
• India used the BRICS platform to maintain engagement with Russia, China, and Iran while preserving its strategic relationships with the United States and Israel.