Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief.
The highlights this week: India gears up for the BRICS leaders’ summit this weekend, Nepal’s youth movement marks its protest anniversary as the country reels from deadly floods, and Bangladesh’s energy crunch puts pressure on the government.
New Delhi Preps for BRICS Summit
India’s government is pulling out all the stops ahead of the BRICS leaders’ summit hosted in New Delhi on Sept. 12 and 13. Commandos are staging security protocol drills; police are carrying motorcade rehearsals; and city officials are executing a makeover that includes fixing roads, planting flower beds, and deploying BRICS branding.
BRICS—named after its original members of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has long been a critical institution for India. New Delhi balances its membership in the grouping, meant to provide alternatives to Western economic institutions, with its close ties with the West; in doing so, it bolsters its strategic autonomy.
