BRICS Summit

Brics foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint communique amid divisions over the West Asia conflict during the New Delhi conclave

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 ...

Jaishankar said the tensions in the Gulf region, including threats to maritime traffic and energy infrastructure, underline the fragile security environment

Jaishankar was speaking at the start of a two-day meeting of ‌Brics foreign ministers in New Delhi

India is hosting the two-day Brics foreign ministers' meeting, which kicks off Thursday, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar chairing the gathering

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 .

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a joint statement was not possible because a general consensus could not be reached among the members

India's Brics presidency faces an early challenge as Iran seeks condemnation of US-Israel strikes, while fellow members Saudi Arabia and the UAE, targets of Iranian attacks, complicate consensus

India has presented to BRICS nations its priorities for its chairship of the grouping under the theme 'building for resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability'. New Delhi apprised the focus areas to the member nations at the first meeting of BRICS Sherpas and Sous Sherpas that was held from February 9 to 10 in the national capital. The BRICS Sherpas and senior officials from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates participated in the meeting. BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025. It has emerged as an influential group representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade. The Sherpas and other officials also jointly called on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. "During the ..

India also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Malaysia's role as a BRICS Partner Country and noted Malaysia's aspiration to become a full member of the grouping

Ethiopia officially joined Brics in January 2024, following an invitation in August 2023 under South Africa's chairmanship

MEA confirms strong India-US defence ties despite tariff tensions and says talks with China are under way to resume border trade through designated points

With New Delhi set to assume the Brics chairmanship in 2026, India needs to differentiate itself from members like China and Russia, who are seeking to build the bloc as an opposition voice to the US

The remarks came just a day after the US leader said he was close to finalizing a trade deal that New Delhi hopes would give it reprieve from 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs

At the Brics meeting this week in Brazil, leaders jointly condemned the 'indiscriminate rising of tariffs,' in a swipe at President Donald Trump's trade policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for Namibia after concluding his two-day visit to Brazil, where he attended the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro and held talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on various issues, including trade and terrorism. Modi is on a five-nation visit, and Namibia will be his last stop. In Brasilia, PM Modi held "productive talks" with President Lula, the Prime Minister's Office said in a post on X. The discussions focused on diversifying trade ties, as well as expanding cooperation in clean energy, sustainable development and mitigating climate change. The leaders also agreed to deepen collaboration in defence, security, agriculture, space, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and Digital Public Infrastructure, it said. Prime Minister Modi in a post on X also said that he held "fruitful talks with President Lula, who has always been passionate about India-Brazil friendship". "Our talks included ways to deepen trade ties and al

While addressing a press briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump will take any necessary action to prevent nations from taking 'advantage of the US' and its people

During his visit, PM Modi will hold talks with President Lula to boost the Strategic Partnership in trade, defence, energy, tech, agriculture, health, and people-to-people ties

Today, Brics represents approximately 49.5 per cent of the global population and around 40 per cent of the world's GDP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora and discussed ways to bolster cooperation in areas such as critical minerals, trade and investment, healthcare and space, among others. In a social media post, Modi said he had a "fruitful meeting" with President Catacora on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. He described Bolivia as a valued partner in Latin America and said that bilateral ties between the two countries have become much stronger in recent years. "We talked about the need for improving and diversifying trade linkages on a priority basis. We discussed how we can collaborate in sectors such as digital technology, critical minerals, healthcare, space and more," Modi said. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the two leaders discussed cooperation in critical minerals, trade and commerce, digital public infrastructure & UPI, health and pharmaceuticals, traditional medicine, small & medium Industries, .