The optics of Prime Minister Modi, General Secretary Xi and President Putin sharing a laugh at the New Delhi BRICS Summit wouldn’t have done much to calm the frayed nerves of President Trump, desperate as he is to stop any form of dedollarisation—which BRICS has come to symbolise for the US President. But this was not the first time that the trio were meeting in recent years. So he should have got used to it by now. What he had perhaps not anticipated was seeing Iran and the UAE, currently warring sides in West Asia, not only coming to the same table to discuss peace, but also signing the same document, the New Delhi Declaration. To be able to pull this off is a huge diplomatic achievement for India and is vintage Narendra Modi, who has mastered the art of balancing competing and contradictory interests to build consensus. The world is one family after all— Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, as the Prime Minister would say—and dialogue remains the way forward regardless of deep disagreements.
Coupled with the Indian PM’s visible bonhomie with the Iranian President, the promised resumption of bilateral trade, and renewed work on Chabahar port, the message was unmistakable—India was tiring of an arbitrary sanctions and tariffs regime and would not let external powers decide its foreign policy. It is significant that all this took place in spite of Iran’s archenemy Israel being one of India’s closest strategic partners, and that another partner, Japan is wary of China’s expansionist moves. That none of these two countries, or for that matter countries with whom India has FTAs, had any problem with New Delhi operating an independent foreign policy, shows the trust that underpins these ties. Few other countries or heads of government or state would have been able to achieve this with such panache. And that is the defining message of BRICS 2026—a reaffirmation of India as a trusted partner and friend whose voice matters on the global stage; as well as a recognition of the strategic space that India has carved out for itself, which gives it the confidence and independence to operate in its own interest and for global good. Bullying India can be a futile exercise. The power across the Atlantic would do well to absorb this lesson.
