Strategic Autonomy in motion as India hosts 18th BRICS Summit

NewsIndia NewsStrategic Autonomy in motion as India hosts 18th BRICS Summit Strategic Autonomy in motion as India hosts 18th BRICS Summit India will host the annual BRICS summit on September 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, UAE, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – along with 10 other partner countries.

Together, BRICS nations account for 49 percent of world population, 40 percent of global GDP and 26 percent of international trade. Watch India’s BRICS Strategy: Why It Refuses to Choose Sides? | Axis Deep Dive The last time India hosted an in-person BRICS summit was in 2016 in Goa.

This year also marks 2 decades of formalisation of the bloc for cooperation on issues related to global economic and political governance. 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.

This will also be the first summit to see in-person participation by Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of the Ukraine war. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also visiting India for the first time in 7 years to participate in the summit.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.

The ministerial meetings have so far resulted in key outcomes and initiatives spanning agriculture, health, energy, environment, disaster management and also trade, reaffirming commitment to a fair, inclusive and transparent multilateral trading system with WTO at its core.India for BRICS Despite the political fragmentation and economic imbalances associated with the grouping, BRICS remains important for India for multiple reasons, especially in an increasingly uncertain world.

For one, it lends India a platform to practice its 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 reinforces an independent foreign policy.

For India, as external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said, BRICS is an embodiment of a multipolar world. India is not giving up on its Western partnerships, only hedging against uncertainty whether from US unpredictability or Chinese ascendancy.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 the UNSC, IMF and World Bank that are not representative of the developing world.

Support for UNSC reforms is important, although it still 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 single-handedly shape the agenda of the developing world. BRICS is consensus driven and even for Washington and other Western capitals, India's moderating influence should be of significance as it prevents the bloc from turning into an anti-West platform.There's focus as well on expanding financial architecture as no government would like its trade to be held hostage by instruments it can't control.

As Jaishankar has underlined, institutions such as the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement demonstrate the group's ability to create credible alternatives. For India, these are not initiatives targeted at any currency.

In any case, India has officially said it's against de-dollarisation or any attempt to target the US currency. It has also ruled out any proposal for a common BRICS currency.BRICS provides India with markets, along with trade diversification, de-risking and supply-chain opportunities.

According to a commerce ministry press release, intra-BRICS merchandise trade reached approximately $1.17 trillion in 2024. India exported an estimated $82 billion in goods to BRICS members in FY2025–26, alongside approximately $31.3 billion in services exports in 2024.

BRICS membership deepens India’s trade relationships with Russia (energy), Brazil (agriculture/commodities), Gulf and African countries, diversifying away from overreliance on any single partner.Key Challenges for India The 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 would not like the event to end with a Chair's Statement, like what happened with the foreign ministers' meeting, knowing well that no BRICS summit has concluded without a comprehensive joint declaration.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said last week India has received cooperation from all members and the government is working to arrive eventually at a constructive outcome that benefits all BRICS stakeholders. India will focus on drafting a resolution rooted in the UN Charter, dialogue and diplomacy, freedom of navigation and civilian protection, while looking to ringfence 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...