Can BRICS help reshape global order by strengthening emerging economies?

Leaders of the BRICS grouping — meeting this weekend in New Delhi — face immediate diplomatic and economic challenges as they seek to chart a more influential role for emerging economies. The 11-nation bloc includes long-standing members such as China and Russia and recent additions like Iran, alongside Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The summit arrives against a backdrop of heightened global uncertainty. Recent US trade measures described as tariffs and other unpredictable actions have unsettled international commerce, while the prolonged conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran has strained energy markets and raised regional security concerns. Those developments form part of the agenda as member states weigh coordinated responses.

The war represents a direct stress test for BRICS cohesion. Tehran has pushed for collective condemnation of Washington’s actions, yet several Gulf members of the bloc have themselves endured attacks attributed to Iran. That divergence in security interests raises questions about how far BRICS can move toward a shared stance on the conflict without fracturing internal consensus.

Beyond the immediate geopolitical tensions, the summit will consider longer-term ambitions to rebalance the global economy in favor of the Global South. Delegates and analysts on the program Inside Story — presented by Mohammed Jamjoom and featuring Manish Chand, David Monyae and Mohammad Eslami — discussed whether the bloc can translate its growing membership into coordinated economic influence and a credible alternative to existing global governance structures.