Hosting BRICS Foreign Ministers Amid Crises, India Steps Up As A Bridge In A Divided World

 

 

New Delhi : As wars rage in both Europe and West Asia, India’s decision to host the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on May 14–15 has acquired unusual geopolitical weight. Announced by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal here on Thursday, the gathering comes at a time when the BRICS grouping finds itself at the crossroads of two major global crises — the Russia-Ukraine War and the escalating US-Israel war against Iran. “India will host the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting on May 14 and 15, 2026,” Jaishankar said during a regular media briefing.

 

“The meeting will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. BRICS foreign ministers and heads of delegations from member and partner countries will participate in the meeting. They will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of BRICS member countries will exchange views on global and regional issues of mutual interest.” According to a statement issued by the Ministry, on May 15, BRICS member and partner countries will participate in a session themed ‘BRICS@20: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. “This will be followed by a session on the ‘Reforms of Global Governance and Multilateral System’,” the statement further reads. For New Delhi, which holds the BRICS chair this year, the meeting is set to become a platform where the Global South’s leading voices deliberate on wars that are reshaping energy markets, trade routes, and the global balance of power. BRICS is a major intergovernmental organisation comprising 11 emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia – that represent over 40 percent of the world’s population and 37.3 percent of the global GDP.

 

It promotes economic cooperation, geopolitical influence, and global governance reform. Originally formed as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in 2006, it became BRICS with South Africa coming into the fold in 2010, and expanded in 2024-2025 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Indonesia. The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting comes at a time when international system is witnessing sharp polarisation. The US is deeply involved in both the European and West Asian theatres. Russia remains locked in Ukraine and under extensive sanctions. West Asia is destabilised by the confrontation involving Iran, Israel, and US forces. Energy markets, shipping lanes, and food supply chains are under stress. The BRICS countries collectively represent a large share of the world’s population, energy demand, commodity production, and emerging market growth. By hosting the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, India is enabling BRICS to position itself as a stabilising diplomatic forum outside Western alliance structures. New Delhi is offering a platform for coordinated Global South responses to war-driven economic shocks. It is also expected to act as a counterweight to narratives shaped primarily in NATO or G7 spaces. The West Asian escalation has direct implications for BRICS members. Iran is central to energy flows and regional stability.

 

The Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea routes are critical for global trade. Oil prices and shipping insurance costs are surging. India, China, and South Africa are heavily dependent on West Asian energy. Brazil is a major commodity exporter affected by shipping disruptions. By convening BRICS Foreign Ministers now, India is creating space to discuss collective diplomatic messaging urging de-escalation, address maritime security in the Indian Ocean and adjoining waters, coordinate positions on energy supply stability and price volatility, and reinforce the principle that regional wars should not destabilise global trade.

 

On the other hand, the Russia–Ukraine conflict has divided the world into sanctioning and non-sanctioning blocs. Within BRICS, Russia is a principal member and a party to the conflict. China and India have avoided condemning Moscow while advocating dialogue. Brazil and South Africa have taken neutral, negotiation-oriented positions. Hosting this meeting allows India to reinforce BRICS’s collective stance in favour of dialogue over escalation. India uniquely maintains working relations with all principal actors. New Delhi has a strong strategic partnership with the US. It also has long-standing defence and energy ties with Russia. It maintains deep engagement with Israel, civilisational and energy links with Iran, and holds leadership credentials in the Global South. This gives India credibility to host difficult conversations without appearing partisan. The meeting allows New Delhi to demonstrate its capacity to convene rivals at the same table, its aspiration to act as a bridge power in a fractured world, and emerge as a diplomatic hub of the Global South.

 

Originally seen as an economic grouping, BRICS is increasingly becoming a geopolitical forum. By hosting this meeting at a time of war in two theatres, India is underscoring that BRICS is now a forum for political coordination on global crises. It is also signalling that the Global South will not remain a passive observer of great-power conflicts. According to Ruchika Sharma, Research Associate at the Udaipur-based Usanas Foundation think tank, the upcoming BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in India marks a critical moment amid the geopolitical churnings in West Asia. “The Iran-US war continues to create ripple effects across global economies and is widely shaping the geopolitical alignments,” Sharma told ETV Bharat. “Amidst these developments, BRICS remains a significant platform for cooperation and India attaches great importance to it.

 

The theme, ‘Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability’, assumes even greater significance in deepening partnerships with the Global South, offering India an opportunity to project BRICS as a platform capable of sustaining dialogue, cooperation, and unity, which are the core fundamentals of multilateral engagement.” To sum up, India hosting the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting is geopolitically consequential. In a world increasingly divided by war and blocs, New Delhi is positioning BRICS as a space for dialogue, balance, and strategic moderation – and itself as the convening power capable of steering that conversation.