BRICS: Congress says declarations of solidarity must be backed by consistent action

NEW DELHI: Welcoming BRICS's growing influence, the Congress on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use India’s chairmanship of the grouping to restore the country’s diplomatic space and stature among Global South nations, asserting that declarations of solidarity must be matched by consistent, consequential action.

“This includes taking special measures to address concerns of perceived endorsement of attacks on BRICS member Iran, the BJP government's limited diplomatic role during the ongoing war in West Asia (including its unwillingness to forge consensus between BRICS members), and its inadequate support for BRICS founding member South Africa when it faced diplomatic pressures,” said a statement issued by Salman Khurshid, chairperson of the AICC Foreign Affairs department.

“The BJP government must therefore take deliberate steps to rebuild confidence among partners in the Global South by demonstrating that India remains a credible and constructive partner, even in times of crisis.

The party further said India must provide the grouping with “moral leadership and strategic clarity” while safeguarding its national and economic interests.

The Congress also flagged India’s “deeply imbalanced” trade relationship with BRICS countries, which collectively account for 19.6% of global merchandise trade. “While acknowledging efforts on the BRICS Pay System, the BJP government should use India's BRICS chairmanship to advance a mutually beneficial trading relationship, pursuing greater market access for Indian goods and services, addressing non-tariff and other market barriers, while securing fair and predictable conditions for Indian enterprises to compete and expand in BRICS nations,” it said.

Some agreement must be reached on securing supply chains and inclusive connectivity, and efforts must be made to operationalize the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (set up in 2014, to which India has pledged USD 18 billion), the statement said.

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Invoking former prime minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress said India should combine the pursuit of its strategic rise with support for sovereign equality, peaceful coexistence, human dignity and a rules-based international order. It cited India’s mediation in the Korean War, principled stances in West Asia, campaigns against apartheid South Africa, push for decolonisation across the world, and advocacy for reform of global governance institutions as examples of the country’s earlier moral leadership.

The Congress also urged the government to use the BRICS summit to exercise statesmanship by forging solidarities among members without allowing it to get engaged in bloc politics

“It should deepen South-South cooperation and make the function as a stabilizing forum in a fragmented international system; to work together to address deficiencies in global institutions; and to demonstrate that strategic autonomy can coexist with constructive and consequential multilateralism,” said the party.

The Congress believes India must unequivocally demonstrate that it is strong enough to advance its own interests, principled enough to stand with those who seek a fairer world, and trusted enough to serve as a credible bridge between the Global South and Global North, it said.

It also asked the government to pursue commitments made during India’s previous BRICS chairmanship in 2021, and firm backing from member countries for India’s claim to permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.