The Brics group of nations has unanimously adopted a joint declaration calling for calm in the Middle East and stressing the need for greater cooperation to keep global trade, supply chains and energy flows running smoothly.
The declaration was adopted as the two-day Brics summit opened in New Delhi on Saturday, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosting leaders of the expanded 11-member bloc.
China’s President Xi Jinping, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the leaders attending the summit.
India assumed the Brics presidency at a challenging time, with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine disrupting energy and shipping, tariffs putting pressure on trade and growing differences among member states over how to respond to the crises.
The declaration expressed “deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions” in the Middle East and called for “maximum restraint”, while warning against deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities in particular.
It reiterated the bloc’s position on Palestine, expressing “firm opposition” to the forced displacement of Palestinians and to any changes in the geography or demography of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The declaration also called for an end to Israeli violence in Gaza, support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and full United Nations membership for Palestine.
The bloc also backed the expansion of non-Western cross-border payment channels, greater cooperation on artificial intelligence and opposition to unilateral sanctions and tariffs.
President Xi arrived in New Delhi on Saturday morning for his first visit to India in seven years, as the two Asian powers seek to repair strained relations.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Xi said the fighting in the Middle East was not in the interests of the international community.
“As the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region continues to evolve, the war there has caused serious losses to people across the region,” China’s Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.
The conflict “does not serve the common interests of the international community”, he said.
On Friday, Modi held talks with Putin, agreeing to deepen bilateral ties, and with Pezeshkian, during which they discussed freedom of navigation and the safety of ship crews in the Strait of Hormuz.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto are also attending the summit.
The United Arab Emirates has sent Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as its representative, while founding member Brazil is represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in place of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Brics, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, was established in 2006 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in international institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers. South Africa joined in 2010, while the grouping has since expanded further.
The heads of the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, are also attending the summit.
Speaking at a closed session, Egypt’s el-Sisi called for the stability and freedom of international navigation.
“The current developments in the Middle East and their negative repercussions on the global economy, trade and energy flows, and supply chains affirm the close link between security and development,” he said.
Key divisions
Despite the declaration, the expanded bloc faces significant internal differences over the Middle East and global trade.
Iran and the UAE, both Brics members, are on opposing sides of the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
At last year’s summit, the bloc issued a joint declaration condemning the 12-day US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran’s leadership and nuclear programme. But a meeting of Brics foreign ministers in May this year ended without a joint statement on the conflict, highlighting the difficulty of maintaining consensus among its increasingly diverse membership.
The bloc’s finance ministers and central bank governors have also criticised tariffs and non-tariff measures that they say distort trade and are inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules.
The United States has imposed tariffs on several Brics members under different pretexts, at times linking their removal to policy changes by the targeted countries.
US President Donald Trump has described Brics as “anti-American” and threatened punitive tariffs against countries that align with the bloc.
As host, New Delhi faces a delicate balancing act as it seeks progress on trade, finance, technology, energy security, resilient supply chains and climate change while managing its relationships with major powers.
As Brics marks its 20th anniversary, its central challenge is whether its expanded membership can translate its growing economic weight into greater influence for the Global South while maintaining unity on issues that increasingly divide its members.
