India is seeking consensus on issues such as cross-border payments, economic cooperation and reform of multilateral institutions
The BRICS Summit, to be hosted by India on September 12-13, is unlikely to consider further expansion of the grouping as there is no consensus among existing members on admitting more countries, officials said.“India is expected to use its chairship to focus on consolidating the grouping after its significant enlargement from five members to eleven over the past two years, and ensuring better integration of the new members and partner countries into its various mechanisms. There is no consensus yet on further expansion so the matter isn’t likely to be considered,” an official tracking the matter told businessline.geopolitical issuesThe enlarged grouping itself is grappling with the more difficult task of arriving at common positions on geopolitical issues, especially the West Asia conflict. Sharp differences between Iran and the UAE have made consensus more elusive, and are complicating efforts of arriving at an agreement on a joint communique for the New Delhi summit, sources said.At the BRICS Summit, India is seeking consensus on issues such as cross-border payments, economic cooperation and reform of multilateral institutions, the official added. The summit aims to strengthen cooperation on trade, investment, finance, technology and development, while advancing the bloc’s push for a greater voice for the Global South in global institutions.expansion processDuring the 2024 expansion process, more than 30 countries expressed interest in joining BRICS, either as full members or partners during the 2024 expansion process. Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are among countries that have expressed interest in full membership, while countries, including Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam, have joined the partner-country framework. BRICS admission rules require consensus among existing members. The official noted that BRICS has evolved substantially over the past two decades, and required a lot of collaboration. “There are 35 tracks at the level of ministers and heads of agencies, which is a very, very elaborate programme for collaboration. It requires a lot of participation, engagement, and effort,” said the official.India has, therefore, sought to increase the participation of new members and partner countries in specific areas of cooperation. “We have made an effort this year to make sure that we encourage participation of new members and partner countries in certain sectors during our chairship,” said the official.This is reflected in the proposed participation in the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, which includes not just leaders of BRICS members, but also all partner countries and a number of outreach invitees.The hHeads of State from most BRICS countries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, are expected to attend the meet. The UAE may be represented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Other members, including Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, will be represented by the Heads of State or senior officials.Published on September 6, 2026
