BRICS Seeks Consensus On West Asia War As Sherpas Meet Ahead Of Delhi Summit

BRICS Sherpas met in New Delhi on Sunday and Monday to finalise the draft Delhi Declaration and bridge differences among member countries over references to the West Asia war. The meeting comes ahead of the BRICS summit in Delhi this weekend, with member countries stepping up efforts to ensure that the grouping adopts a consensus document despite differences that emerged during earlier ministerial-level meetings.

Differences between Iran and the UAE had prevented BRICS foreign and trade ministers from issuing joint statements earlier. The Sherpas have been working to find common ground on the language to be used in the Delhi Declaration, particularly on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the Palestinian issue.

The declaration is expected to

include references to the West Asia war and Palestine. India has also pushed for stronger language on combating terrorism and reforms of multilateral institutions, including the United Nations. Another area under discussion is the formulation on unilateral sanctions imposed by individual countries. The grouping is also expected to discuss greater use of national currencies for trade among BRICS members and future projects of the BRICS New Development Bank.

The 18th BRICS summit, which coincides with the 20th year of the grouping’s formation, is expected to focus on a broader people-centric agenda, including energy security, resilient supply chains, startups, innovation funds and the internationalisation of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Amid disruptions to global supply chains caused by geopolitical conflicts, BRICS members are also expected to consider a Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework aimed at improving the resilience, efficiency and sustainability of transport logistics and supply chains across sectors.

Meanwhile, security preparations for the summit have intensified in the National Capital Region. An inter-state coordination meeting was held on Monday to review security, law and order and traffic arrangements for the event. The meeting, chaired by Eastern Range Joint Commissioner of Police Milind Mahadeo Dumbere, was attended by senior police officers from Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad. Officials discussed measures to ensure coordination between neighbouring districts during the summit.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also chaired a Consultative Committee meeting on India’s relations with West Asia on Monday. He highlighted India’s ties with the Gulf and West Asia and the government’s efforts on the welfare of around 10 million Indians in the region, as well as energy and fertiliser security, trade and connectivity amid the ongoing conflict.