Annapolis (US) | India hosted a successful 18th BRICS Summit, a US-based analyst has said, underlining that the substantive joint declaration issued on the first day demonstrated New Delhi's ability to reach consensus among countries with divergent views.
Michael Kugelman, a Senior Fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, said the declaration reflected both India's convening power and the growing appeal of the BRICS grouping.
The annual summit of BRICS, a grouping of 11 major emerging economies representing around 49.5 per cent of the world's population and 40 per cent of global GDP, was held under the chairmanship of India from September 12 to 13 in New Delhi.
The BRICS countries on Saturday unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026, which was attended by global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The declaration expressed serious concern over the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures, saying such actions distort global trade and violate World Trade Organisation rules.
It also focused on terrorism, conflict prevention and the peaceful resolution of disputes. India led efforts to bridge differences between Iran and the UAE over the West Asia conflict during negotiations on the declaration.
"I think we could assess India's hosting role as a success. The fact that there was a joint declaration that was quite substantive and was issued on the first day highlights how New Delhi was able to work with a group with disparate views and reach a consensus," Kugelman told PTI Videos on Sunday.
"What's fortunate for BRICS is that it operates based on consensus, not unanimity. There needs to be a critical mass of those agreeing with what to do, and that's clearly what India was able to get to," Kugelman emphasised, hailing New Delhi's growing global prominence.
Kugelman said the declaration challenges the West-led global order by seeking greater intra-BRICS trade and positioning the grouping as an alternative to Western-led economic and financial institutions.
"What BRICS is really about is that it is meant to position itself as an alternative to Western-led economic and financial institutions in a world order that many countries, particularly in the Global South, are increasingly uncomfortable with," he said.
He said the push for greater trade among BRICS countries demonstrated the grouping's ability to deliver substantive measures for economies "concerned and indeed threatened by tariffs and sanctions coming from the Trump administration that were indirectly flagged in the declaration." Asked how Washington views the summit, Kugelman said BRICS was often misunderstood and mischaracterised in the US.
"One view is that it's irrelevant, it's a talk shop. And the other is that it's bent on taking on the West. Both of those are wrong," Kugelman said.
He said he did not expect a strong public reaction from the Trump administration as the United States was not specifically named in the declaration.
"Though it (the US) certainly is alluded to indirectly... what Washington thinks depends on what BRICS actually does," he added.