Role of BRICS in Strengthening India’s Foreign Policy

The world’s five emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are together referred to as BRICS. The alliance was formally established at the inaugural BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Conference in 2006. In December 2010, South Africa received an invitation to join BRIC, which led to the name BRICS being used for the group.

Why is BRICS in News?

In August 2023, the 15th BRICS Summit is anticipated to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa. The past three summits, which were presided over by Russia, India, and China, were held four years ago, making this the first one to take place in person.

Role of BRICS – Key Objective

The BRICS initiative seeks to improve political and economic stability. These nations are anticipated to dominate the global supply of goods, services, and raw materials by the year 2050. The BRICS’s primary goals can be summed up as follows:

• The fundamental objective is to strengthen, deepen, and expand collaboration among its member nations in order to encourage growth that is equitable, sustainable, and beneficial to all.
• To make sure that each nation’s economic advantages are utilized in order to foster connections and, to the extent possible, minimize conflict.

Role of BRICS in Strengthening India’s Foreign Policy

• India’s Role as a Growth Maker for Other BRICS Countries: India spent over $4 billion in South Africa, and the Global Executive Development Programme was founded to prepare the workforce.
• India’s Role in South Asian Trade: India has made a number of promising efforts to encourage commerce, one of which is making preparations for a digital, open-access BRICS platform. In order to link its ranks with those of other developing countries rather than those of other members, it has formed an independent credit rating agency within the BRICS umbrella.
• Role of India as a Big Brother: India is regarded as having a powerful voice in the BRICS and the UN, speaking out against measures or policies that would be detrimental to the interests of any member.

For instance, India rejected China’s desire for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Mexico to join the BRICS. India was of the opinion that focusing on strengthening current members rather than welcoming new ones would strangle the BRICS as a coalition and lead it down the same route as the European Union.

• India’s Peacekeeping Role: The BRICS must be peaceful for trade to flourish, which is why maintaining peace in trade hotspots like the Indian Ocean, North Africa, and the Mediterranean is crucial. India has supported both the Rohingya and the Tibetans in their battle for independence. As part of UN missions to quell domestic unrest, India has sent over 1,000 troops to Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

Role of BRICS in Areas of Cooperation

• Voice of Developing Nations: Together, the BRICS nations make up 17% of global trade, 33% of the global GDP, and 42% of the world’s population. BRICS nations considerably contribute to global economic growth, trade, and capital investment as a key tenet of the international system.
• Climate Change: This forum, which brings together the largest developing countries in the world, enables international areas of cooperation on sustainable development and climate change mitigation.
• Finance and Business Forums: The BRICS have endorsed a multipolar world, a different global financial structure from the IMF and the World Bank, and a complete overhaul of the world trading system (WTO reforms).

Challenges Before the BRICS Nations

The role of BRICS in Today’s BRICS geopolitics are different:

• China is now stronger than its past competitors. The combined GDP of the other BRICS countries is smaller than Beijing’s.
• Moscow is now more dependent on China than ever before as it suffers from the Ukraine war.
• India’s differences with China have gotten worse while those with the US are being resolved.
• Delhi may have favored a “multipolar world” in the 1990s, but it now favors a “multipolar Asia” in order to prevent the area from turning into China’s backyard.

Role of BRICS to Cater the Challenges

• Economic Rebound Following COVID

Since the pandemic spread to many regions of the world. Both the economy and its effects have been felt. The creation of cooperative macroeconomic policy helps alleviate economic problems. The BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy 2025 must be continued, the summit reaffirmed. The New Development Bank’s membership has grown, which has also increased the institution’s influence.

• Russia-Ukraine Crisis

In response to the crisis in Russia and Ukraine, the BRICS conference resolved to help and provide aid. Despite geopolitical differences, the conference encouraged contact between Russia and Ukraine.

• Customer Protection in the Age of E-Commerce

The 14^th BRICS summit recognized the need of protecting customers in the age of e-commerce, which prompted the formation of the Digital Economy Working Group.

• Strengthening Trade

The 14^th BRICS Summit agreed that there should be an increase in cooperation with regard to trade-related activities. The BRICS business council and the BRICS national focal points will work together as required by the BRICS Framework for Cooperation on Trade in Services.

• Terrorism

The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism has been ratified and is currently being put into effect under the auspices of the UN. The primary goal of this legislation is to stop biological and chemical terrorism.

The challenges of Afghanistan and terrorism were also highlighted at the BRICS conference. A campaign has been launched to increase public awareness of anti-corruption practices.

• Conclusion

BRICS must overcome a number of obstacles, including internal conflicts, a slowing global economy, and geopolitical concerns. The group can, however, continue to be influential by broadening its goals to support all-encompassing development and improved interstate collaboration. The democratization of global concerns, tolerance for cultural variety, and amicable dispute resolution should also be top priorities for BRICS.

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