India welcomes Russia, Iran leaders for BRICS summit overshadowed by war

The 20th anniversary of Brics has arrived, with the grouping's 18th summit taking place in New Delhi. This year marks the first where India has presided over the expanded group, which now comprises eleven full members and ten partner countries. Collectively, these countries represent nearly half of the world's population, around two-fifths of global output, and about a quarter of world trade.

During the summit, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched the theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Co-operation and Sustainability" to guide Brics' efforts. The chairship's work is divided into four key pillars: health, agriculture, food, energy, disaster preparedness, and supply chains; innovation via startups, MSMEs, research, digital public infrastructure, and artificial intelligence; strengthened multilateralism and global governance reform; and sustainability through clean energy, adaptation, and nature-based solutions.

To oversee such an extensive endeavor, India organized over 400 meetings across 35 ministerial and heads-of-agency tracks, supported by various additional tracks. More than 20 ministerial and heads-of-agency meetings focused on foreign affairs, national security, justice, agriculture, energy, health, transport, labour, environment, science and technology, information and communication technology, women's development, disaster management, trade, industry, education, culture, tourism, finance, and central banking.

Additional sectoral interactions included those with Brics Business Forum, Women's Business Alliance, energy, labor, and trade ministries.

The outcomes of this year's Brics summit are not limited to papers. The summit launched Brics AgriN, a network focused on agricultural inputs and genetic resources, as well as centers of excellence in agro-ecology and regenerative agriculture. Additionally, digital centers for smart grids and energy storage, the Brics Connect platform, and a mission for healthy lifestyles were established.

The leadership also produced the first ministerial declaration on urbanization and agreed on voluntary principles for climate-resilient urban infrastructure, co-operation in standardization, and a logistics and supply-chain co-operation framework.