Strategic autonomy in motion as India hosts Brics summit

NEW DELHI: India will host the annual Brics summit on Sept 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam, returning to the venue where it held the G20 summit in 2023. That gathering is remembered for the inclusion of the African Union in G20, marking a major step in efforts to bridge the gap between the western-led global order and the emerging Global South. At Brics, India will look to leverage that momentum, working with major emerging economies to demand structural reforms of global governance institutions dominated by the West.This would be the 18th summit of the grouping that brings together 11 major emerging and developing economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, the UAE, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - along with 10 other partner countries.The theme of India's 2026 chairship is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', drawing inspiration from PM Narendra Modi's 'humanity first' and people-centric approach to Brics.

Under its chairship, India has so far held over 350 meetings - 25 at the ministerial level, including the foreign ministers' and national security advisers' engagements.India for BricsDespite political fragmentation and economic imbalances, Brics remains important for India for multiple reasons, especially in an increasingly uncertain world. It reinforces India's strategic autonomy and multi-alignment policy, not allowing any one single bloc to acquire excessive leverage over it.

That it can simultaneously expand its strategic and technology ties with the West and also work with Quad for a free and open Indo-Pacific reaffirms an independent foreign policy.Brics also allows India to showcase its Global South leadership credentials, as it works with other major emerging markets to push for reforms of global institutions like UNSC, IMF and World Bank that are not representative of the developing world.

Support for UNSC reforms is important, although it falls short of an explicit endorsement of India's permanent membership bid, mainly because of China's presence.India's approach to Brics is also guided by its complex ties with China. Turning away would mean allowing China to shape the agenda of the developing world. India's moderating influence prevents the bloc from turning into an anti-West platform.There's focus too on expanding financial architecture, as no govt would like its trade to be held hostage by instruments it cannot control.

As foreign minister S Jaishankar has underlined, institutions such as New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement demonstrate the group's ability to create credible alternatives. For India, these are not initiatives targeted at any currency.Brics also provides India with markets, along with trade diversification, de-risking and supply-chain opportunities. Brics' membership deepens India's trade ties with Russia (energy), Brazil (agriculture/commodities), Gulf and African countries, diversifying away from over-reliance on any single partner.Key challenges for IndiaThe first, of course, is to forge a consensus on West Asia that would enable a joint Brics declaration, a task complicated by the presence of the UAE and Iran in the group.

India will likely focus on drafting a resolution rooted in the UN Charter, dialogue and diplomacy, freedom of navigation and civilian protection, while looking to ring-fence economic agreements from contentious political issues by acknowledging respective national positions.Balancing relations with the US is another key concern for India, which is hosting the summit fresh off a tariff firestorm with Washington. US President Donald Trump sees the grouping itself as an assault on US currency.

India backs legitimate local-currency settlement while maintaining it is against any common Brics currency or China-centred replacement mechanism.Another challenge for India is to prevent China's predominance without destabilising its bilateral relations with Beijing. For all the talk about Brics' combined power, China enjoys a vastly asymmetrical influence with its trade, investment, manufacturing and critical mineral leverage.

Wary of China's economic agenda, India avoided endorsing SCO's 2030 economic roadmap, and it must work with Beijing in Brics on shared objectives, though without letting the forum become a Chinese economic or geopolitical platform.This also intersects with the challenge of ensuring that an expanded grouping remains governable and cohesive, especially with countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh pursuing membership with support from Beijing.Jaishankar said while announcing the summit that Brics must transition now from a forum for discussions to a platform for delivery.

In that spirit, India seems focused on delivering an outcome-oriented summit, with key deliverables like a unanimous Brics declaration, logistics supply-chain cooperation framework, incubator/startup network, development finance, cross-border payment and continued support for Indian priorities like UNSC reforms and counterterrorism.To conclude, inclusion of African Union was not the only major takeaway from 2023's G20 summit.

Perhaps more dramatic was the last-minute consensus on Ukraine through a compromise language crafted by India, which allowed a G20 declaration. India can derive confidence from that diplomatic triumph as it heads into another tough but potentially rewarding global summit.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.