India’s BRICS presidency to help shape stable, inclusive and pragmatic international order: Experts

New Delhi, May 21 (SocialNews.XYZ) India’s 2026 presidency of BRICS arrives at a moment of significant geopolitical and geo-economic turbulence, creating both a challenge and an opportunity for the country to help shape a more stable, inclusive, and pragmatic international order, senior representatives from government and industry said here on Thursday.

Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) convened a closed-door roundtable, titled “BRICS Rising: India’s Strategic Presidency” in the national capital.

The discussion brought together former BRICS Sherpas, diplomats, senior representatives from government and industry, and members of the strategic community for a candid exchange on the role India can play in guiding BRICS+ through a period of deep uncertainty.

“An often forgotten fact: BRICS was never intended to function as a platform for binding agreements such as FTAs. However, the expectation from the formation somehow veers towards that. So, the need of the hour is to look at BRICS as it is – an important platform for multipolarity, economic cooperation, and trust-building,” said the CRF in a statement.

The roundtable explored how India’s presidency could move BRICS beyond broad declarations and toward more practical cooperation in geopolitics and geoeconomics.

Participants discussed the implications of a fragmented world marked by sanctions, export controls, rising protectionism, weakened multilateral norms, and growing uncertainty in global trade and investment.

The central question was how BRICS can evolve from a forum of shared aspirations into a platform capable of producing visible and credible outcomes, the statement said.

A major theme of the conversation was the changing character of BRICS in an expanded and more diverse setting.

“As the grouping grows in membership and strategic reach, questions of cohesion, identity, and direction have become more pressing. The deliberations highlighted the need for BRICS to preserve political flexibility while developing the institutional discipline required to manage a broader and more complex membership base. Participants noted that expansion can strengthen the bloc’s global leverage, but only if it is matched by a clearer sense of purpose and stronger coordination among members,” said CRF.

Another important focus was the relationship between BRICS and the Global South. The roundtable considered whether the expanded grouping can continue to credibly present itself as a representative voice of developing countries while avoiding dilution of its original identity.

The discussion underscored the importance of ensuring that BRICS remains responsive to the priorities of its members, including development, strategic autonomy, and reform of global governance, while also demonstrating relevance to a wider international audience.

India’s role during its presidency emerged as a central point of reflection. Participants assessed how New Delhi can steer BRICS toward practical outcomes without allowing the grouping to become an unwieldy coalition shaped by competing national agendas.

The conversation emphasised India’s ability to serve as a bridge between different perspectives and to channel the group’s momentum into focused initiatives on trade, investment, supply-chain resilience, digital interoperability, and institutional reform.

The roundtable also examined the economic dimension of BRICS cooperation. With intra-BRICS trade and economic engagement rising steadily, participants discussed how this growth can be translated into deeper and more structured integration.

Areas highlighted for attention included trade facilitation, standards cooperation, digital governance, sector-specific partnerships, and measures to reduce regulatory frictions. The discussion pointed to the need for a more action-oriented “Trade+” agenda that brings together trade policy, industrial policy, supply-chain resilience, and regulatory cooperation.

In an increasingly volatile global trading environment, the participants stressed the need for practical mechanisms that can enhance connectivity and reduce barriers among BRICS+ economies.

This included greater coordination on payment systems, local currency trade, infrastructure connectivity, logistics corridors, and investment support. The roundtable noted that BRICS has the potential to contribute meaningfully to the stabilisation of global trade by focusing on cooperation that is tangible, scalable, and responsive to current disruptions.

According to CRF, the discussion further reflected on BRICS as more than an economic arrangement. Participants emphasised its broader relevance as a consultative platform for multipolarity, strategic autonomy, and reform of global institutions. The exchange highlighted the importance of trust-building, people-to-people engagement, and socio-cultural cooperation alongside economic initiatives. In this view, BRICS can strengthen its credibility not only through formal policy coordination but also through a deeper sense of shared purpose among its members.

The roundtable concluded with broad agreement that BRICS+ under India’s presidency has an important opportunity to demonstrate that multilateral cooperation can remain relevant in a fragmented world. While expectations should remain realistic, the grouping can still make a meaningful contribution by advancing practical cooperation, encouraging institutional reform, and helping shape a more balanced global order.

For India, the presidency offers a timely platform to reinforce its diplomatic standing while advancing a vision of BRICS that is more coherent, more responsive, and more consequential.

—IANS

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Source: IANS