Iran-UAE rift clouds BRICS summit as India races for consensus

The continuing West Asia conflict and sharply divergent positions of Iran and the UAE are casting a shadow over the successful conclusion of the BRICS Summit to be hosted by New Delhi on September 12-13. India is stepping up efforts to bridge differences among the 11 members and secure agreement on a common joint communique, a senior official said.

The challenge is underlined by the fact that two key BRICS meetings held earlier this year, the Foreign Ministers’ and Trade Ministers’ meetings, could not produce a joint communique because of differences linked to the West Asia conflict.

“India is now relying heavily on the Sherpa channel, with its representatives in regular touch with counterparts to narrow differences ahead of the summit,” an official told businessline.

Members had been given full opportunity to articulate their national positions, the official said.

“BRICS is a consensus-based framework. Whatever discussions we have, on whatever issues, we aim to build consensus through dialogue. As Chair, India’s effort has been to maintain dialogue, engagement and discussion among all members on every issue and topic,” the official said.

The summit aims to strengthen cooperation on trade, investment, finance, technology and development, while advancing the bloc’s push for a greater voice for the Global South in global institutions. India is also seeking consensus on issues such as cross-border payments, economic cooperation and reform of multilateral institutions, the official added.

Heads of State from most BRICS countries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, are expected to attend the meet. The UAE may be represented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Other members, including Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, will be represented by Heads of State or senior officials.

The Iran-UAE differences over the West Asia crisis have been particularly difficult to reconcile. Things nosedived after the UAE announced an indefinite trade embargo on Iran on August 19, accusing Iranian forces of firing two ballistic missiles at its territory. Iran denied the allegation, calling the reported attack a “false flag operation” by Israel and the United States.

The official said India’s approach was to be “very transparent and inclusive”, allowing every member to put forward its views while identifying areas where consensus could be built.

The difficulty reflects the increasingly diverse composition of BRICS, which expanded to 11 members over the past two years with the inclusion of Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

For India, the objective ahead of the September summit is not necessarily to eliminate differences, but to find formulations acceptable to all members and prevent geopolitical disagreements from derailing the broader agenda.

“Sherpas are expected to continue intensive consultations in the coming weeks on the draft summit declaration, with India seeking to ensure that the summit ends with a common joint communique — an important indicator of the grouping’s ability to maintain unity despite its expanding membership and increasingly divergent national positions,” the official said.

At the Foreign Ministers’ meeting in May, India had to issue a Chair’s statement and outcome document after members failed to agree on contentious language on the conflict.

At the Trade Ministers’ meeting in Jaipur earlier this month, consensus was reached on virtually all issues, but a joint communique could not be issued because of objections to one paragraph that Tehran wanted included, according to officials. The meeting instead adopted a Chair’s statement and outcome document with four annexes.