00:04The 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12th and 13th was important, not just because
00:09of what the BRICS countries agreed on, but also because of what they chose to leave out.
00:24The 11 members BRICS now represents roughly 50% of the world's population, around 40%
00:29of global GDP in purchasing power terms and more than 25% of global trade.
00:35So this is no longer a small emerging market grouping, it is becoming an important platform
00:40for the entire global south. The key question from this summit was simple,
00:46can BRICS remain united despite major differences among India, China, Russia, Iran and the UAE?
00:52The answer from New Delhi was yes, but only through carefully worded diplomacy.
00:57I would highlight five major takeaways and the first important takeaway is this.
01:05The New Delhi declaration shows that BRICS can still achieve consensus.
01:09The first and the most important takeaway is the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi declaration.
01:14BRICS new Delhi declaration 2026 का ڈराफ प्रस्तूत है.
01:21इसमें हमारी चर्चाओं का सार प्रमुख, वैश्विक और ख्षेत्री विश्यों पर हमारी दर्शकौन शामील है
01:31साथ ही ब्रिक्स कोपरेशन को और सुद्रुट करने की प्रात्मिक्ता इस समाहित है
01:42यदि किसी सदस्य को कोई आपती न हो तो मैं डिकलेरशन को अडप करने का प्रस्ताव रखता हूँ
01:53It is a 45-page document with around 140 paragraphs covering trade, finance, technology, artificial intelligence, climate change, agriculture, terrorism,
02:04global governance and international conflicts.
02:06The important point is that this consensus came despite serious divisions.
02:12So, think about the membership.
02:14You have India and China which have had serious strategic tensions like Galwan.
02:19You have Russia which remains at the center of the Ukraine conflict.
02:23You have Iran which is directly involved in the current West Asia crisis.
02:27And you have the UAE which has close security and strategic relations with the United States with whom Iran is
02:34fighting an active war.
02:36So, getting all these countries to sign one declaration required diplomatic compromise that tells us something about the future of
02:43BRICS.
02:44BRICS is not becoming a military alliance like NATO.
02:48It is also not becoming a single anti-American bloc either.
02:51Instead, it is increasingly becoming a platform where countries with different interests can coordinate on selected issues.
02:58Like trade, development, global financial institutions and a greater voice for the global South.
03:05So, India's message was also very clear.
03:09Developing countries should not remain merely rule takers.
03:12They should also become rule shapers.
03:15That is the larger political objective behind this summit.
03:19So, the most important and takeaway number two is Iran was the biggest diplomatic test.
03:24It was a test for India and India chose compromise over confrontation.
03:29The second major takeaway concerns that Iran and the wider West Asia crisis.
03:33This was probably the most difficult issue in this entire summit.
03:38Why?
03:39Because BRICS includes both sides.
03:41It includes Iran and the UAE.
03:43While the crisis involves the United States, Israel, Iran and the Gulf region,
03:48the final declaration therefore used very careful language.
03:51It expressed deep concern about the escalation.
03:55It called for maximum restraint, protection of civilians, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,
04:01and the protection of trade and energy routes.
04:04But there is very important detail.
04:06The declaration did not directly condemn the United States or Israel.
04:11And it did not specifically name Iran's retaliatory strikes on Gulf states either.
04:15So, that was deliberate.
04:18India's priority was to get a declaration that everybody could sign.
04:22In fact, India played a significant role in bringing Iran and the UAE towards a last-minute understanding.
04:28We all saw those photos of Iran's president and UAE's crown fence meeting in a room.
04:34Reports say Indian diplomacy involved nearly 100 hours of negotiations,
04:38with China and Russia also helping to push the sides toward compromise.
04:42So, the Iran outcome tells us something important about the India's BRICS strategy.
05:03India did not want BRICS to become a forer, simply for attacking Washington.
05:08Instead, India tried to position itself as a bridge builder.
05:11And that is particularly important for India.
05:15Because it has strategic and economic relationships with all the sides.
05:19The Gulf countries, Iran, Russia, Israel and the United States.
05:24So, on Iran, India's message was essentially this.
05:28BRICS should manage conflict, not become another arena for conflict.
05:34Takeaway number 3.
05:35Gaza got a stronger message, but Ukraine disappeared.
05:39The third takeaway is perhaps the most politically interesting.
05:42Look at what the declaration included and what it omitted.
05:46On Gaza, the language was strong.
05:48BRICS opposed the forced displacement of Palestinians.
05:51It called for an end to the war.
05:53Unrestricted humanitarian assistance.
05:56Support for the UNRWA.
05:57And the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.
06:01With East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
06:05It also supported a full UN membership for Palestine.
06:08So, Gaza received a clear and substantive political language.
06:13But now, look at the Ukraine.
06:15There was no direct mention of Ukraine in the final declaration.
06:19That is extremely significant.
06:21Previous BRICS declarations had referred to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
06:25This time, the declaration avoided directly naming the conflict.
06:29You will ask why.
06:30The obvious reason is consensus.
06:33Russia is a BRICS member.
06:35And a direct condemnation of Moscow would have made consensus much more difficult.
06:39So, the contrast is striking.
06:41Gaza is explicitly discussed.
06:44Ukraine is not.
06:45But, this does not necessarily mean that every BRICS country has the same position on the two conflicts.
06:51It means something more practical.
06:53BRICS was unwilling to allow the Ukraine issue to break consensus.
06:57And that is an important lesson about BRICS.
07:00This organization can speak collectively when there is a broad agreement.
07:04But when a subject directly divides its major members,
07:08the preferred solution is often strategic ambiguity.
07:13Takeaway No. 4
07:14India secured a major diplomatic win on terrorism and Pahlgham.
07:19The fourth takeaway is particularly important for India.
07:22The declaration condemned the April 22, 2025 Pahlgham terror attack,
07:28in which 26 people were killed, in very strong terms.
07:31It reaffirmed a zero-tolerance approach and policy towards terrorism,
07:35including terrorism involving cross-border movement, financing, safe heavens.
07:40For New Delhi, this is significant.
07:43Because India has been trying to make terrorism a central issue in international diplomacy.
07:48The declaration also supported reform of the United Nations Security Council
07:52and a greater representation for developing countries,
07:55including support for a stronger role of India and Brazil.
07:59China and Russia also backed the broader reform objective.
08:03So, India achieved two important things here.
08:05First, it got a specific reference to a terrorist attack that is directly important
08:10to Indian national security, which ultimately blames Pakistan for it.
08:15Second, it linked this with the larger argument that international institutions
08:19need to reflect today's geopolitical realities.
08:22So, the message is simple.
08:24If the world wants to fight terrorism effectively and represent the global south fairly,
08:29institutions created decades ago cannot remain unchanged.
08:34That is a stronger diplomatic theme for India.
08:37Now, the final and the takeaway number 5.
08:40Modi, Putin and Xi optics were message, but not an alliance.
08:44Finally, we come to the most important and visible political story from the summit.
08:50Here, Modi, Putin and Xi Jinping, they were together.
08:54Chinese President Xi Jinping made a short visit to India.
08:56It was his first visit to the country in almost seven years.
09:00It's presence was important in itself, but the optics were even more important.
09:05We saw Modi meeting Xi Jinping.
09:08We saw Modi and Putin displaying their close relationship.
09:11And the images of Modi with Putin and Xi created a very clear political message,
09:15especially for the United States and Trump.
09:19That message was not necessarily this, that India, China and Russia are forming an alliance.
09:25Of course, they are not.
09:27India has major differences with China.
09:28India also has an expanding strategic partnership with the United States.
09:33So, the more accurate message is this.
09:36The world is moving towards a multipolar system.
09:40And India does not want to choose one camp.
09:42The three countries also criticize unilateral tariffs, sanctions and elements of existing global economic systems.
09:48Without directly turning the declaration into an anti-US document.
09:53Now, that distinction matters.
09:55BRICS represents around half of the world's population.
09:57Roughly 40% of global GDP at purchasing power party.
10:01That gives the grouping considerable economic weight.
10:05But the internal divisions are equally important.
10:08India does not want China to dominate BRICS and eventually become the next superpower.
10:13Russia wants stronger alternatives to Western economic pressure.
10:16China wants BRICS to become a major pillar for a more multi-polar world and become the stepping stone for
10:23this country to become the next superpower.
10:26And countries such as Brazil, the UAE, Indonesia generally want practical economic cooperation rather than a geopolitical confrontation with Washington.
10:34So, Modi, Putin, G-message is best understood this way.
10:38We want strategic autonomy.
10:40We want multiple partnerships.
10:42And we want a greater role for Global South.
10:45There is another important point.
10:46India has now completed its BRICS chairship.
10:50China takes over the chair in 2027.
10:52That means the question going forward will be whether BRICS become more China-centric or whether India and the other
10:59members can keep it focused on a broader Global South agenda.
11:06So, if I had to summarize the 2026 BRICS summit in five lines, this is what I would say.
11:131.
11:14BRICS showed that its expanded 11 members grouping can still reach consensus.
11:192.
11:20On Iran and West Asia, India chose diplomacy and compromise rather than direct confrontation with US and Israel.
11:273.
11:28Gaza received a strong language while Ukraine was completely omitted.
11:324.
11:33Showing the limits of the consensus.
11:354.
11:36India scored a diplomatic win by securing strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack and support for the UN reform.
11:425.
11:43And the final point is the Modi-Pudin G-optics projected a message of multipolarity and strategic autonomy, but not
11:50a formal anti-American alliance.
11:52Ultimately, the New Delhi summit was less about creating a new geopolitical bloc and more about demonstrating that the Global
11:59South wants a larger voice in deciding the rule.
12:025.
12:03Of the international system and India's achievement was to keep very different countries from Iran and Russia to China, the
12:10UAE, Brazil and Indonesia inside one room and most importantly inside one declaration.
12:17That may be the most important takeaway of all.
12:20That's all from our side.
12:21This was One India's special news program, India Global.
12:24And keep watching us for more news updates.
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