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The intra-BRICS trade has increased multiple times over the last few years but it accounts for only around 5 per cent of the global trade, reflecting huge untapped potential for deeper integration and stronger value-chain linkages, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said. BRICS is a grouping of 11 developing countries - Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. It acts as a platform for consultation and cooperation on contemporary issues having global as well as regional significance, and issues of global political and economic governance. India has assumed the BRICS Chairship for the fourth time, after 2012, 2016 and 2021. Addressing the 2nd Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Trade and Economic Issues, held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on May 14-15, Agrawal said intra-BRICS merchandise trade has risen 13-fold, from USD 84 billion in 2003 to USD 1.17 trillion in 2024. However, he said, this "trade sti
Sharp differences between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the West Asia conflict were on full display on Thursday during the opening day of the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, signalling the challenges the bloc faces in reaching a consensus position on the crisis. It is learnt that there were heated exchanges between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar during the first sessions at the meeting. As the situation appeared to deteriorate, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov intervened to cool the tempers, it is learnt. In his address, Araghchi said Iran is a victim of "illegal expansionism and warmongering" and urged the BRICS nations to "explicitly condemn" what he described as violations of international law by the US and Israel. The Iranian foreign minister called upon the BRICS to resist "Western hegemony and the sense of impunity that the US believes it is entitled ...
Iran will welcome any initiative by major powers like India to bring peace to West Asia and it is developing a new service-and-payment-based framework for the passage of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in line with international norms, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday. Gharibabadi, currently in New Delhi, told a select group of journalists that a demand by "one member country" of the BRICS to condemn Iran has prevented the grouping from reaching a unified position on the regional conflict, an apparent reference to the United Arab Emirates. "We want India's BRICS chairship to be successful. It is not a good approach to send a signal to the world that the BRICS is divided. One country is insisting to condemn Iran," he said. "We have not attacked neighbouring countries. They handed their territories to the US to launch an attack on us. We never insisted that Arab countries should be condemned as they allowed their military bases to the .
The escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on the global energy supply chain are expected to dominate deliberations at a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers to be hosted by India this week. While Tehran has informed New Delhi that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to attend the May 14-15 conclave, sources suggest his plans could change if the situation in the region changes dramatically. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will skip the meeting as his presence is required in Beijing for US President Donald Trump's three-day state visit, which coincides with the BRICS gathering. Chinese Ambassador to India Xi Feihong will attend the meeting on Wang's behalf, Beijing announced on Tuesday. Foreign ministers of several BRICS member states including Russia's Sergey Lavrov have already confirmed their participation, the sources said. The BRICS foreign ministers will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India, as the chair of the BRICS, is hosting the conclave of t
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to attend the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. During his visit on May 14-15, Lavrov will also hold a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing. "On May 14-15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend a full-format meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in New Delhi," Zakharova said. The meeting, chaired by India, will provide a valuable platform for substantive discussions on current international issues and prospects for strengthening global governance, particularly regarding countries representing the global majority, she was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. "Special attention will be given to enhancing strategic partnerships in preparation for the 18th BRICS summit, which is also scheduled to take place in New Delhi this September
Sharp differences among the BRICS member states over the US-Israel war on Iran stalled India's efforts to build a consensus position on the conflict during a meeting of the grouping in New Delhi last week, official sources said on Sunday. There was no change in India's position on the Palestine issue at all, they said days after the meeting of the BRICS Deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on Middle East and North America held in New Delhi. As consensus on the West Asia conflict eluded, a "chair's statement" was released at the end of the deliberations. India is the current chair of the BRICS. The BRICS meeting of officials on the Middle-East could not produce a consensus document because there was "sharp difference of positions among members who are party to the conflict", the sources said. It is learnt that the United Arab Emirates' position on the conflict resulted in the meeting ending without producing a collective statement. Efforts to bridge the gaps by all others we
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Monday asked why the "self-styled Vishwaguru" is not advancing the BRICS+ Summit that India is set to host this year to put together a diplomatic initiative to deal with the crisis in West Asia. The opposition party also claimed that Modi does not want to "antagonise" US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, pointed out that the 18th annual BRICS+ Summit will take place in New Delhi under India's Presidency later this year, with Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE as members. "Why is the self-styled Vishwaguru not advancing the Summit to put together a diplomatic initiative to deal with the crisis in West Asia and its impacts? Clearly, he does not want to antagonise President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu," Ramesh said on X. "Mr Modi has reported
The Congress on Monday lashed out at the government for not releasing a collective statement on the West Asia conflict as the BRICS+ chair, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "diminishing" the standing of the grouping's presidency in his desire to "appease" US President Donald Trump and maintain his "cozy relationship" with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh recalled that Brazil was the President of BRICS+ in 2025 and it got the 11 member countries to issue a joint statement in June 2025 on the US and Israel air assaults on Iran. "India is boasting of being the President of BRICS+ in 2026. But till now it has not summoned up the inclination or the courage to put out a collective statement on the US-Israel air offensives on and targeted assassinations in Iran, as well as on Iran's subsequent attacks on non-military targets in the GCC countries, and the shocking action of the US Navy in the Indian Ocean close to bot