BRICS Summit begins in Kazan today, first since grouping's expansion in Jan

Highlights:

• As the BRICS Summit begins in Kazan, Russia, on Tuesday, there is anticipation surrounding a potential meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• This summit marks a significant event, following the first-ever expansion of BRICS earlier in the year. The leaders are expected to discuss crucial global issues and set the future course for the alliance.

1. Anticipation of Modi-Xi Meeting:

• The focus of international attention is on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet during the summit. Although the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not confirmed the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri mentioned that the Prime Minister would hold several bilateral meetings during his visit.
• Modi and Xi last met briefly during the BRICS Summit in South Africa in August 2023. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that they would update the media if any meetings were confirmed.

2. BRICS Expansion and Strategic Importance:

• This is the first BRICS Summit since its expansion in January 2024, which saw the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE as new members. Countries such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia have also formally applied to join, reflecting the growing influence of the BRICS group in global geopolitics.

3. Key Attendees and Topics:

• The summit will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Modi, President Xi Jinping, and other notable leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.
• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend in person due to medical reasons but will join via video link. Key issues on the agenda include discussions on the ongoing Ukraine conflict and the crisis in West Asia.

4. Modi-Putin Meeting:

• In addition to a potential meeting with Xi, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This will be their second meeting in recent months, following Modi’s visit to Russia in July 2024. For Putin, the summit represents a crucial multilateral engagement amidst Western sanctions and the ongoing war with Ukraine.

5. The Kazan Declaration and BRICS’ Role:

• Foreign Secretary Misri mentioned that the summit is expected to result in the adoption of the Kazan Declaration, a document that will outline the future path for BRICS. The declaration is currently under negotiation.
• Misri also underscored India’s role as a key voice in debates on global governance reforms, including reforms in the United Nations Security Council, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

6. BRICS’ Economic Strategy:

• As the BRICS bloc expands, Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted its growing economic significance, predicting that BRICS nations would drive much of the global economic growth in the coming years. Putin also called for the development of a SWIFT-like cross-border payments system that would be immune to Western sanctions. He advocated for the use of national digital currencies to finance investment projects, aiming to reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

Prelims Takeaways:

• Kazan Declaration