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PM Modi’s BRICS masterclass shows how real diplomacy is done

By bringing Xi, Putin, and Middle East leaders to one table, India cemented its role as the ultimate bridge in a fractured world.

The acronym BRIC, was first coined by Goldman Sachs economist John O’Neil in 2001; it referred to the international organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added subsequently in 2010. These were the countries expected to be the world’s leading nations by 2050.

The BRICS nations sought to maintain their own identity and remain neutral, rather than aligning with a particular power bloc. 

With regional alliances taking place and grouping and ungrouping of different countries with different associations and different interests, a layperson might’ve assumed that the BRICS was not gaining much traction. 

And yet, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi managed to pull off a coup of sorts this weekend in New Delhi, with the 18th Summit, held on 12 and 13 September. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, as well as Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira flew into the Indian capital. Apart from the core members, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (representing the UAE) attended the Summit under the personal invitation of PM Modi. 

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also participated.

After the weekend, it is clear that BRICS is rapidly emerging as an extremely influential group. It aligns 11 major emerging world economies, which together represent nearly 49.5 per cent of the world’s population; approximately 40 per cent of global GDP and nearly 30 per cent of global trade.

But what makes BRICS relevant today?

I have been associated with BRICS and have had the opportunity to work with its different cultural and economic committees. In the run-up to the Summit, I have had the opportunity to speak across multiple forums: Economic, innovation, artificial intelligence, investment, sustainability and clean energy. During my time interacting with the press and world leaders, I realised that the organisation........

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