Hanoi, September 13 (Daily Kiran) : The recent expansion of BRICS offers India a significant opportunity to enhance its connections with countries in the Global South, according to a report. This development goes beyond the upcoming summit in New Delhi, positioning India as a key player in a broader coalition of nations.
However, the expansion also presents challenges in maintaining unity within the group. The report emphasizes that India must strengthen its relationships with medium-power countries like the UAE and align with new members to ensure the group’s strength is not diluted by ongoing growth.
As noted by the Vietnam Times, BRICS has evolved from a small group of five nations, which India helped establish as a platform for emerging economies. The expansion has increased its geographical reach, population, and economic clout, allowing it to emerge as a voice for dissatisfied countries within the current global order. Yet, this growth has also introduced new contradictions within a group that has historically struggled with cohesion.
Despite these challenges, the report suggests that the expansion could ultimately benefit India. The original BRICS provided New Delhi with a distinct identity, while the expanded BRICS now offers a wider platform for India to deepen its relationships with key nations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Global South.
The report further asserts that BRICS Plus could reinforce India’s preferred terminology: strategic autonomy, multipolarity, sovereign equality, improved multilateralism, and greater representation for developing nations. Importantly, it clarifies that India does not need BRICS to change the international order but rather to enhance its bargaining power within that framework.
Additionally, the expanded group strengthens India‘s arguments for reforming international organizations and institutions that do not adequately reflect economic and demographic realities. It provides a platform for India’s Global South diplomacy concerning development financing, climate justice, technology access, food and energy security, resilient supply chains, and digital public infrastructure.
According to the report, New Delhi should not view BRICS Plus merely as a primary platform for its foreign policy or as a group burdened by an uncomfortable legacy. Instead, it should be regarded as a pillar of a broader strategy to advance multipolarity without succumbing to bloc politics, showcasing India’s diplomatic leadership.
The key question is not whether BRICS Plus is stronger than the original BRICS but whether India can navigate a larger and more complex group to advocate for a multipolar system that preserves its autonomy.
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