The RIC bond - Crucial ties to lead the BRICS into a new era and new 'non west world' ::: PM Namo holds hands with Putin, Xi for a powerful photo-message Delhi BRICS Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, Sept 12, urged India and China to join hands to strengthen BRICS cooperation during bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

There was a lot for India and Brazil to cheer in the room.

China and Russia (with veto power) have reiterated their support for India and Brazil to play a greater role in the United Nations, including at the UN Security Council.

According to the Delhi Declaration, the leaders of BRICS countries reiterated their support for a “comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council”.

The Delhi Declaration by BRICS and the document signed by China -- was a big thing. 

"It is a big deal; the Pakistanis must be watching," said former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal later. 

Between Islamabad and Rawalpindi - there must be discussions on why China has left Pakistanis high and dry and that too at a Summit meet chaired by Narendra Modi.  

At their first bilateral meeting on Indian soil since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, Xi said the two countries could learn from each other’s strengths and pursue shared development. He said Beijing viewed its ties with New Delhi from a strategic and long-term perspective, as both countries seek to rebuild relations after years of tensions.  

The RIC bond - Crucial ties to lead the BRICS into a new era and new 'non west world' 

A photograph released on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi shows PM Narendra Modi standing between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, holding hands with both leaders as they share a light-hearted moment.  

The snap  speaks a million words. It not only signals coming  together of the leaders of three major world powers and emerging economies.  

The BRICS Summit in Delhi has a 'revealing' of a deeper geopolitical shift: -- questioning the assumptions of the US-led global order.   

The Unipolar world order that George Bush boasted of in 1991 has collapsed !  The post-Iran war 'missive' is Trust in the US is eroding   

In blateral parleys, PM Modi and Xi agreed that differences between India and China should not become disputes. The leaders also underscored the need to strengthen business ties and enable greater mobility between the two countries.

They discussed the need to address each other’s concerns over the structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and to facilitate “meaningful and predictable market access”, the MEA said.  

New Delhi has made it clear that while it is working to strengthen ties with Beijing and Moscow; it would maintain its pragmatic partnerships with other major powers like EU, other Western allies and the US. 

It all started probably with the 2024 Summit of the BRICS bloc when the meet was hosted by Putin. The same spirit persisted in Brazil in 2025. Now under Modi - Delhi Declaration and deliberations have made it clear that -- 

The emerging markets are unwilling to bow to pressure and 

The great American dominance is being challenged.

A day earlier, a photograph of the Prime Minister holding hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian went viral online. And it happened not without good reasons.   

 

The Modi Govt has maintained since 2022-23 after Russia-Ukraine conflict commenced that it stands for peace and dialogue while avoiding alignment with rival geopolitical camps, an approach that also informs its stewardship of the BRICS Summit. 

PM Modi had earlier underlined that "this is not the era of war" and in August he took it to a new dimension -- telling Putin that --from the 'endless war' .. the world ought to move towards 'End of war'.  This has played a game-changer and in more ways than one.

Modi and two of his colleagues in foreign policy engine room 

In 2023, India pulled off a major feat at the G20 Summit by getting members to sign a consensus declaration. 

It managed to do so again at the BRICS Summit this year -- with member states unanimously adopting the 'New Delhi declaration' notwithstanding the differences.   

BIG TAKEAWAYS -- TERRORISM

* Calling for zero tolerance for terrorism, the BRICS nations specifically condemned the 

Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 25 tourists dead and triggered a conflict with Pakistan. 

The mention of Pahalgam is significant as China, Pakistan's closest ally, is a signatory to the declaration.   

The Delhi declaration called for rejection of "double standards" on terrorism and accountability for those involved. 

While no country was named, the wording left little doubt about whom the message was aimed at - Pakistan.

* The declaration also called for faster adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism - a treaty that was tabled by India at the UN way back in 1996.  

The US was not at the BRICS table, but it was at the receiving end.

The BRICS Delhi declaration condemned unilateral economic and secondary sanctions, stressing that they could undermine development, food security, healthcare and human rights.