Trump’s Shadow Overshadows BRICS Summit in Delhi Amid Iranian Conflict
The 2026 BRICS summit, hosted by New Delhi, arrives at a time when President Donald Trump’s policy agenda—particularly his tariff drives and de‑dollarisation push—continues to ripple across the bloc’s member economies. While the United States is not a member of BRICS, its trade and geopolitical moves set a tense backdrop for the leaders’ deliberations.
The group now counts eleven members, including India, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE, Iran and, with Saudi Arabia as an invited participant, a broadened alliance that straddles a wide spectrum of interests. Of these, India is mid‑phase in a trade deal with the U.S. and cannot afford a sharp anti‑Washington stance, whereas China fears being seen as using BRICS to target Washington. The UAE, host to U.S. military bases, likewise would resist framing a statement that supports Tehran’s cause.
The Iran war and its economic fallout dominate the agenda, with the Kremlin’s conflict in Ukraine also looming large. Latin American and African members, many with deeper ties to China than to Moscow, add to the mix of priorities. Branks parties must therefore strike a delicate balance between asserting collective sovereignty and avoiding harshly confrontational language about U.S. policy.
Brics’ expanded size has crucially increased its geopolitical heft—accounting for 49 % of world population, 40 % of global GDP and 26 % of international trade—but it also muddies consensus. The 2023 G20 hosting experience for India gives it a template, yet the 2024 foreign‑minister meeting ended as a debate over Iran’s war, failing to reach a joint statement after divergent positions on U.S. relations and global trade.
What India hopes for this weekend is to secure a polished joint declaration that showcases Brics’ concrete achievements, especially the New Development Bank’s multibillion‑dollar infrastructure programme and a $100 bn contingency reserve registry aimed at cushioning members from financial shocks.
The summit will also host high‑profile bilateral talks. Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Modi is scheduled to talk directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin—both likely to broach the war dynamics in Ukraine and the ongoing trade deficits with Russia and China. Modi’s past public appeal for peace during a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Bishkek was warmly received by Moscow, a sign of diplomatic cautiousness.Read more about Modi’s peace appeal.
Ultimately, Delhi’s diplomatic success will rest on the ability to produce a coherent, weighted statement. With sharp differences over Iran’s war, U.S. policies, and the future of global trade, any such language will be likely to be carefully crafted to avoid outright confrontation. Washington, for its part, will monitor developments closely.
