Not China or Russia, pro-West India is milking Brics the most

“Five years, they never met and here you go, in Brics,” noted UAE-based foreign policy commentator Hassan Sajwani on the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “It seems Brics is becoming the platform to resolve disputes, bring mutual trust, and build trade relations,” Sajwani added.
The visuals from the Brics summit in Russia, where Modi and Xi shook hands and held a bilateral meeting after five years, coincided with the announcement of military de-escalation in eastern Ladakh, speak volumes of how India is effectively using the multilateral forum.
What is most interesting is that India is the most pro-West country in Brics, which originally started with just Brazil, Russia, India and China, and then added South Africa in 2010. This year, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE were added as members.
India has used the Brics, which has two of the most anti-American forces — Russia and China — to walk a complex geopolitical tightrope and use opportunities to its advantage. A neutral and non-aligned India is leveraging the opposing bloc of Brics to advance its economic, diplomatic, and geopolitical interests, just like it did by shaking hands with China, and conveying a positive message.
And this effective diplomacy of India’s in using Brics, is taken note by many experts, including foreign policy analyst Michael Kugelman, who wrote, “Ironically, India, perhaps the most Western-oriented Brics member — is one of the biggest beneficiaries” of Brics.
India’s engagement with Brics extends far beyond the mere economic cooperation that the bloc was initially meant for. Brics was meant as a counter to the G7, a western economic bloc.
The Brics Summit at Kazan demonstrated how the bloc was transformed into a platform for India to address a wide range of issues, including conflicts, technological cooperation, batting for an overhaul of the United Nations and most importantly mending India-China relations.
“Brics is proving its strength as more than just an economic alliance; it’s becoming a platform for diplomacy and trust-building. India and China’s meeting shows the potential for resolving disputes and deepening cooperation,” Sky News Arabia journalist Nancy Tabet wrote on X.
“Brics’ priorities are India’s priorities,” foreign policy analyst Michael Kugelman wrote in an article for the BBC News website.
Despite the geopolitical rivalry between India and China, and the thaw in relations since 2020, Brics has turned into a platform for the two nations to cooperate.
On the eve of the Brics summit last week when PM Modi and President Xi shook hands, foreign minister S Jaishankar said India and China agreed to resume border patrols and go back to the situation before the 2020 Galwan clash.
Meanwhile, Beijing said, both the nations “reached resolutions on relevant issues”.
If not the most prominent, the Modi-Xi meeting was certainly a standout highlight of the summit hosted by Russia in Kazan.
“The India – China agreement on border control on the eve of the event and the successful meeting between Xi and Modi on the sidelines in Kazan were important takeaways this year,” Oslo-based Green politician, Diplomat Erik Solheim noted on X.
India’s reconciliatory posture with China also reflects its willingness to work with it on issues where their interests converge, despite their differences in other domains.
India’s engagement within Brics is largely turning out to be a part of a broader strategy to balance its relationships with both Western countries. It also uses Brics as the leader of the Global South.
While India enjoys strong ties with the United States, Japan, and Australia through the Quad alliance, its engagement with Brics allows it to maintain a degree of independence and flexibility in its foreign policy.
“It affords India the opportunity to stake out more balance in its relations with the West and non-Western states, in an era when Delhi’s relations with the US and its Western allies (with the notable exception of Canada) have charted new heights,” Michael Kugelman noted in the BBC piece.
Additionally, India’s purchase of Russian ‘Ural oil,’ which could have triggered Western sanctions, faced no pushback from the US. In fact, the US clarified that it would not impose sanctions on India for buying and refining Russian oil.
Modi’s visit to Russia, including his attendance at the BRICS summit, shows India’s commitment to her historical partnership with Moscow, which dates back to the Cold War era. And India is mindful of the relationship given the level of defence and energy cooperation.
India’s influence within Brics is not limited to its economic or diplomatic weight; it also extends to shaping the bloc’s ideological and strategic direction.
India, which has had a problem with a unipolar and bipolar world order, has hailed Brics for providing the alternative. “Brics itself is a statement of how profoundly the old order is changing,” said Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
Within Brics, India gets to closely engage with some of its closest allies and a traditional rival, but as India works with all the members, it underlined India’s commitment to multilateralism and a democratic global economy.
The recent expansion of Brics to include countries like Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran, which are the new members of the grouping, attests to India’s bid for a democratic Brics. Incidentally, all the nations have a healthy and cordial relationship with India, indicating how India is using its say to shape the grouping.
India was Egypt’s fifth-largest trading partner as of December 2022. Ethiopia is important for its position in the strategic ‘Horn of Africa’. India, Ethiopia’s second-largest trading partner, is nearing the completion of a defense agreement aimed at providing military training to the African nation, according to a report in The Print from March 2024. While Egypt is a growing trade and security partner, India-UAE relations need no introduction.
Turkey’s induction into Brics, which was reportedly blocked by India, signals India’s interest in sharing space with like-minded countries. However, Turkey dismissed the claim that India had opposed its entry as a Brics partner country.
India, under Prime Minister Modi’s vision of becoming the ‘Vishwa Guru’ and leading the world, shows its commitment to the voice of the Global South at the BRICS Summit.
While India batted for “creating a more equitable global order” at the Brics Summit in Kazan, foreign minister S Jaishankar, said, “Brics can make a difference for the Global South”, by “strengthening and expanding platforms of an independent nature and by widening the choices in different domains and minimising under reliance on those that can be leveraged”.
That there were talks about the Global South at the Brics summit was noted by Norweigian diplomat Erik Solheim. “BRICS is rapidly becoming the voice of the global South,” he wrote on X.
While Russia and China, the other two powers in the Brics, are not the contenders in the race, India’s democratic credentials, its ability to navigate geopolitical alignments, ideal positioning and reputation make it an attractive candidate to lead the Global South narrative.
“The Global South has a high degree of trust and expectation from India,” S Jaishankar said at the conclusion of the Kazan Summit.
India’s involvement in Brics is a multifaceted strategy that goes beyond economic cooperation. By using the bloc to work with China, balance its relations with the West, shape the bloc’s ideology, and position itself as a leader of the Global South, India is the one country that is making the most of Brics. As the global landscape continues to evolve, India’s ability to navigate these complex relationships by using multilateral platforms like Brics will be crucial in defining its role as a major player on the international stage.