The BRICS group of nations has unanimously adopted a joint declaration expressing “deep concern” over the war in the Middle East and urging maximum restraint.
The declaration, adopted on the first day of the BRICS leaders’ annual summit in New Delhi on Saturday, comes at a time when United States and Iran have resumed tit-for-tat strikes against each other, after a pause in fighting for much of August.
The BRICS bloc includes both Iran and Washington-ally United Arab Emirates, which was expected to make clinching a joint statement consensus a particularly challenging task for host India.
“We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East…call for exercising maximum restraint…avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation,” the declaration said.
It also reiterated the commitment of member nations to a peaceful resolution of international disputes “through dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy”.
In addition, they voiced concerns about the rise of “unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures” that distort trade, against the backdrop of US sanctions against Tehran amid its war with the country, and against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine.
In an earlier address, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the BRICS group of countries to draw up a roadmap with 10 reform proposals for global governance by the next summit.
“The current structure of global governance looks like a pyramid,” he told the gathering in New Delhi in Saturday.
“At its top are concentrated power and decision-making. And at the bottom are those countries that are affected by these decisions, but cannot shape them,” he said.
The plenary session brought together, in the main hall of the Bharat Mandapam convention center, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, among other heads of state of the bloc.
Modi stated that the roadmap must be articulated around three axes – representation, responsiveness, and rule-making – to increase the weight of emerging economies in international institutions.
“The reform of the United Nations Security Council can no longer be postponed,” stressed the Indian leader, who called for linking negotiations on its reform to defined deadlines and concrete results.
Modi also demanded that the voting power, leadership positions, and priorities of international financial institutions better reflect the current weight of the economies driving global growth.
In his address to the summit, President Xi called on the BRICS bloc to be a peacemaker in the Middle East conflict.
China will work with other BRICS members in that role, as the war “does not serve the common interests of the international community”, state-run CCTV quoted Xi as saying.
The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
It was set up in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies. Together, its members account for more than 40 per cent of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the global economy.
The Chinese leader called the bloc a “leading group” in the Global South and a model of self-reliance among emerging and developing countries that should promote innovation-driven development.
He said China would assume the BRICS chairmanship next year, and host the 19th summit.
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