BRICS as a Global Alternative

These remarks were delivered at the national seminar on “BRICS as a Global Alternative—Prospects and Concern for India,” organised by the India Council for World Affairs and the Netaji Institute for Asian Studies. Learn more about the event here.

Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation for this prestigious invitation and, more importantly, for the amazing initiative taken by the host institutions, namely the Indian Council of World Affairs, Netaji Institute for Asian Studies, Adamas University and H.P. Ghosh Research Centre to organize this conference in Kolkata.

Multilateralism, a major facet of international diplomacy, presents a puzzling paradox in the world afflicted by a deep polycrisis today: sometimes it works; at other times, and often enough, it does not deliver. The abject failure of the UN Security Council to bring the Israel-Hamas conflict to an end is a vivid example of this failure. On the other hand, the success of G20 under India’s presidency in offering a package of solutions for global challenges is a fountain of hope.

In this light, a critical and comprehensive look at BRICS by the galaxy of scholars and experts assembled here is undoubtedly a worthwhile enterprise. Vice Chancellor Suranjan Das, the force behind it, deserves our deep gratitude and warm applause for conceiving and creating this special project.

BRICS figures high on the list of multilateral institutions India promotes, supports and shapes. Our nation is not only a co-founder but also a leading player. It is a forum that sustains multipolarity and gives hope to those who believe that multilateralism, if reflective of contemporary times, can work for the world’s security, stability and prosperity. It is widely perceived as a counterweight to G7.

BRICS embodies the multilateralism of the 21^st century, which is representative and inclusive. It stands in contrast to the products of 20^th-century multilateralism such as the UN Security Council that have become anachronisms due to their inability to adapt to the changing realities of global geopolitics.

This conference takes place at an important juncture in the history of BRICS. With the transfer of the chairmanship from South Africa to Russia on 1 January 2024, the institution has now assumed its second avatar. Its transformation from a forum of five founding members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) into a forum of ten nations, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran being the newly admitted members, is a consequential development. However, Saudi Arabia is yet to confirm its willingness to join.

This development shows the BRICS’ capability to reform itself and make it more meaningful and relevant to a changed world. The full implications of this institutional development and India’s past and future role in it will need to be examined with clinical precision.

BRICS turns 18 in September 2024. As an adult, it needs to look at the road traversed so far to chart its path in the coming years, with a blend of innovativeness and practicality. Its 15^th summit, held in Johannesburg in August 2023 under South Africa’s successful presidency, began this task fairly well. BRICS was projected as fully committed to “inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law” and opposed to “the use of coercive measures” that are incompatible with the principles of the UN Charter.

The Johannesburg Declaration called for “greater representation” of emerging markets and developing countries in international organizations. Bowing to sustained pressure from three members (India, Brazil and South Africa), the other two (China and Russia) worked together to take a momentous step forward. In paragraph 7, it was agreed to “support” a greater role by developing countries, “including Brazil, India and South Africa” in “the United Nations, including its Security Council.” Thus, a formulation frozen for over a decade was replaced by a slightly more promising one.

Another significant decision was the commitment to strengthen the framework of “mutually beneficial cooperation” under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial and cultural and people-to-people cooperation, as well as to enhance “the strategic partnership” for peace and “a more representative, fairer international order, a reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, sustainable development and inclusive growth.”

Indeed, it is a tall order, this goal to realize an extremely ambitious vision. Can BRICS achieve it in a substantial measure, if not fully, in the coming decade? This is a key question that the conference participants, in my view, should bring under a microscopic examination in the next two days.

Many prominent issues come into the limelight here. First, the record of BRICS. Several experts are inclined to argue that BRICS has not achieved much, but those who have tracked its evolution since September 2006 hold the view that the forum has performed reasonably well. It has put forward a non-Western perspective on world order; stayed alive, regaining a fresh wind through expansion; launched the New Development Bank (NDB) with an impressive portfolio of projects and a total volume of approved financing of $30 billion under its 2022-2026 strategy; created the Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA); and, above all, sustained ‘the habits of working together’ via regular summits of leaders, ministerial meetings and extensive interaction through other channels. Now, with ten members in the club, BRICS will have to up its game, driven by coherence and creativity.

Second, time and patience will be needed to integrate and ‘socialize’ the new members into the forum. Considering that two of the five new members are from Africa and three, if Saudi Arabia joins, are oil-producing countries, it is inevitable that their concerns and priorities will have to be taken on board in a way that is consistent with the past achievements and the present ethos of BRICS.

Third, the ten members together will be expected to address the question of further expansion as, by one count, 16 countries are still knocking at their doors. While taking over as the new Chair, President Vladimir Putin expressed his intention to explore the potential inclusion of 30 other countries, “in varying degrees”, in the multidimensional agenda of BRICS. It would be interesting to watch how ‘BRICS Outreach’ and ‘BRICS Plus Dialogue’ shape up under the Russian leadership.

Finally, a host of other critical issues such as a common currency, the need to expand the financial resources of the NDB, the imperative to overcome internal divisions and factionalism and the absolute necessity to insulate the forum from the impact of conflicts–India-China, Ukraine, Gaza and the Red Sea–confront the leaders. On these and other related issues, can we–at this conference–come up with some detailed objective analysis and policy recommendations for consideration by the BRICS governments?

India’s approach towards BRICS has been consistently positive and supportive. New Delhi took its time to warm up to the idea of expansion, but once it saw this as a step towards inclusiveness, its negotiators played an active role in the selection of six countries as new members. One of them, Argentina, recused itself later.

India views the forum as a non-West, not anti-West, institution. Justifiably the government is determined to retain this orientation. BRICS is considered an essential instrument for asserting the nation’s strategic autonomy and safeguarding its commitment to strengthening multipolarity in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the forum’s past as “a very long and wonderful journey.” He suggested that BRICS should secure greater cooperation in areas such as space, education, skill development and mapping, digital technology and traditional medicine in the future. The collective effort should be to make BRICS “a future-ready organization,” he stressed.

In the end, may I urge the host institutions of this national seminar to produce a comprehensive report on its two-day deliberations. This should be shared with the governments and concerned institutions widely to raise awareness about the Indian perspective on BRICS in all relevant quarters.

Thank you very much for your attention.

To learn more about the national seminar on “BRICS as a Global Alternative—Prospects and Concern for India,” click here.

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House.

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