New Delhi: India is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and a raft of other international leaders next month for the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
Though India has not officially announced the dates of the summit, it is likely to be held on 12 and 13 September, in the national capital. The summit itself may take place in Bharat Mandapam, however, there has been no confirmation of the same. It was the location of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in September 2023.
The BRICS grouping consists of 11 official members and 10 partner countries. India has sent an invitation to all 21 countries affiliated with the organisation. A number of non-members of the BRICS have also been invited to participate in the outreach summit, including Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in his role as chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
Apart from Bangladesh, India has extended invitations to Burundi, the current President of the African Union, the Philippines in its role as chair of ASEAN, the President of Uruguay in their capacity as the head of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), and Bahrain in its capacity as the chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Of the 11 member-countries, eight are set to be represented by their respective heads of state or government. Apart from the three Presidents representing Russia, China and Iran, the other heads of states or government expected to represent their countries include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira is expected to lead the delegation from the South American country. President Lula is unlikely to attend the summit as general elections are expected in the first week of October. Lula had travelled to India earlier in February.
The UAE is likely to be represented by Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. The leader of Saudi Arabia’s delegation has not been confirmed yet. Riyadh has been considered a part of the organisation, but it has not publicly confirmed its membership. The West Asian Kingdom is unlikely to be represented at the highest of levels during the New Delhi summit.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is expected to attend the summit, as well as Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canal, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, and the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Uganda, another partner country, is likely to be represented by Vice-President Jessica Alupo, while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is likely to lead the Thai delegation to the summit.
Le Minh Hung, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, is likely to lead the country’s delegation for the New Delhi summit. Vietnam President To Lam had travelled to India earlier in May for a state visit. Bolivia, another partner country of the BRICS grouping, has not yet confirmed the head of its delegation.
This is the third summit to be hosted by the Narendra Modi government, following the editions in 2016 and 2021. It is the second physical BRICS summit to be hosted by India. The last summit—2021—was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New Delhi summit assumes significance as the war in West Asia continues in some form, with two members of the grouping–Iran and the UAE–continuing to be at opposite sides of the conflict.
The differences between Tehran and Abu Dhabi led to the lack of a joint statement from the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held earlier in the year. The New Delhi summit also follows a couple of weeks after the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), another regional forum, which has common members including India, China, Iran and Russia, as well as BRICS partner members such as Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The summit is also being organised about three months before the G20 leaders’ summit, which is set to be hosted by America. US President Donald Trump has consistently attacked the BRICS grouping, even going so far as threatening its members if they moved to set up their own reserve trading currency.
While the grouping does not have a formal agreement, or a permanent secretariat, it has established the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). The two finance-related institutions are part of the grouping’s vision to provide funding for member-states including emergency funds to countries facing balance of payment issues.
(Edited by Tony Rai)