India’s presidency of the 18th BRICS Summit comes amid expanded membership, conflicts involving member states, and pressure from the United States, while the grouping’s economic and diplomatic weight continues to grow.
At the BRICS Business Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for secure sea lanes, open supply routes, and measurable BRICS trade, startup, and partnership targets.
Iranian and Russian leaders spoke at the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, urging BRICS members to expand trade and investment, use national currencies more widely, and strengthen economic resilience against Western sanctions.
At the BRICS Business Forum, leaders emphasized economic cooperation, secure maritime trade routes, greater use of local currencies, and proposed financial mechanisms for BRICS projects.
The upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi will focus on local-currency trade and alternative cross-border payment mechanisms, but BRICS remains far from challenging the US dollar’s global role.
Pakistan’s formal application for BRICS membership has stalled, with India’s position identified as a key obstacle despite Pakistan’s outreach to Russia and China and its purchase of a stake in the BRICS-backed New Development Bank.
At a BRICS business forum, Iranian and Russian leaders criticized Western sanctions and called for stronger economic cooperation, wider use of national currencies in trade, and deeper ties with the Global South.
At the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, Masoud Pezeshkian called for stronger BRICS cooperation in trade, finance, infrastructure, and local-currency payments.
Ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, the article argues that political differences among members are secondary to BRICS’ core aim of advancing economically outside Western-dominated institutions.
