Hendra Wijaya
Leaders of the expanded BRICS group have formally adopted a joint consensus declaration on the opening day of their 18th annual summit in New Delhi, overcoming significant internal fractures over escalating global conflicts. The agreement, reached during the two-day gathering in the Indian capital, reflects a delicate diplomatic balancing act among member states holding sharply divergent interests in the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
The summit convened key world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, alongside representatives from the rest of the 11-member bloc. Their deliberations unfolded against a backdrop of severe international friction sparked by the United States-Israel war against Iran, expanding unilateral tariff policies, and heightened geopolitical instability.
The resulting New Delhi Declaration appealed for general restraint across the Middle East, though it carefully stopped short of directly condemning either the US-Israeli military strikes or retaliatory actions by Iran against Gulf nations. The communique expressed profound concern regarding the intensification of regional hostilities and urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint to prevent broader regional destabilization.
A similar cautious approach was applied to global trade tensions. While the declaration criticized the widespread use of unilateral tariffs and stated that such measures run counter to international law, the summit document avoided explicitly naming the United States or individual administrations responsible for these trade restrictions.
Diplomatic observers noted that the decision to omit specific state names allowed member countries to safeguard their vital bilateral economic partnerships. Several BRICS economies, including India, China, and Russia, have faced unilateral trade measures, yet they sought to maintain room for maneuver in their external trade ties rather than endorse a collectively confrontational posture.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi framed the summit as a pivotal milestone for the bloc, declaring that BRICS had arrived at a "coming of age" moment. Addressing the delegates, Modi urged emerging economies across the Global South to transition from passive rule-followers into active "rule-shapers" capable of influencing the architecture of global governance.
At the same time, Modi sought to temper Western apprehensions regarding the bloc’s geopolitical trajectory. He emphasized that the group should not be categorized as an overtly anti-Western coalition, maintaining that BRICS is not designed to oppose any specific nation or hemisphere, but rather to secure equitable representation for developing countries.
Originally established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the grouping incorporated South Africa in 2010 before undertaking a major expansion. The bloc now encompasses 11 sovereign nations, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, creating a geographically and politically diverse coalition.
Collectively, the expanded BRICS grouping represents nearly half of the global population and contributes approximately 40 percent of total global gross domestic product. With this economic weight, the bloc has consistently advocated for structural overhauls within legacy international institutions, demanding comprehensive reforms of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.
Reaching a shared stance on the Middle East crisis represented one of the most demanding diplomatic tests for the newly enlarged membership. The challenge was underscored earlier in May, when a preparatory meeting of BRICS foreign ministers collapsed without producing a joint statement because of irreconcilable divisions over the war in Iran.
During the New Delhi summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the urgency of de-escalation, noting in an official statement that the conflict does not serve the common interests of the broader international community. Xi called on the warring parties to pursue a political settlement anchored in an immediate, comprehensive, and enduring ceasefire.
The final communique also voiced explicit concern over deliberate strikes directed against civilian infrastructure and safeguarded nuclear facilities operating under International Atomic Energy Agency oversight. This phrasing served as an indirect reference to previous military operations, including the 12-day conflict in 2025 during which US forces struck major Iranian nuclear installations at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.
Former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao characterized the adoption of the declaration as a significant diplomatic achievement for New Delhi, particularly given the sharp strategic friction between member states Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Rao observed that while the consensus relied on broadly framed language, it demonstrated the grouping's capacity to maintain vital multilateral dialogue even when internal national interests collide.
Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, indicated that international expectations for the summit had remained low because of the prevailing geopolitical friction among member states. He noted that member nations invested in the viability of the non-Western forum would view the modest outcome favorably.
Donthi added that Indian negotiators relied on New Delhi's cordial relationships across the bloc to conduct intensive backchannel diplomacy. This mediation proved decisive in bridging the substantial rift between Tehran and Abu Dhabi, ultimately securing unanimous backing for the New Delhi Declaration.
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