The Highlights:
The 16th BRICS Summit that took place in Kazan, Russia from 22nd to 23rd October, 2024 is an important geopolitical event amidst growing tensions in the entire world and increasing challenges to the economies of the world. The summit this year is on the theme “Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security” that brings in the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa as well as new entrants like Iran, Ethiopia and the UAE. By far, the importance of the session is that it reinforced the depth of the bilateral diplomacy between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, further strengthening their strategic partnership against the international dynamic nature which is ever-changing.
India-Russia Bilateral Meeting: Consolidating Long-Standing Relations
During this summit, PM Modi and President Putin were going to have the much-awaited bilateral meeting as India and Russia again declare their solidarity. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Russia in 2024 and underscores the importance of India-Russia ties in the context of global realignment. Russia, building its own alliances after the heavy-hitting Western sanctions over its Ukraine conflict, sees India as a crucial partner in its drive to regain its standing in global politics.
In this meeting, Modi and Putin underlined mutual interests in economic cooperation, defense partnerships, and energy collaboration. They reviewed several agreements signed earlier in the year and discussed new areas of cooperation. Modi’s stand for peaceful resolution to conflicts, like his call for an end to the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, reflected India’s balanced international diplomacy approach in keeping ties with Russia as well as the West.
BRICS Expansion and India’s Role
This summit comes at an important time because it is the first since BRICS increased its members to join the bloc by several new members. This means that the bloc has become more influential in the global scenario. Especially, the induction of Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the UAE have marked a move of the organization toward newer economies. BRICS, hosting now 41% of the world’s population, and 24% of the world’s GDP, used the summit as an avenue for discussions reshaping global economic governance to meet the challenges of trade, climate change, and financial development in the world economy.
Under Modi, India remains the anvil setting the agenda in BRICS. As the world’s largest democracy, India remains ahead of the curve as a champion of the voice of the Global South, it advocates for these values of inclusive development and increasing cooperation on frontiers such as digital innovation and sustainable energy.
Putin’s geopolitics and Russia’s BRICS agenda
This summit marked a chance for President Putin to highlight Russia’s unwillingness to be isolated from the rest of the world by the West. Hosting such a global summit, Putin indicated how Russia was still present and relevant in a much debilitated role at the international level even after sanctions were imposed and Russia had fallen out with the West. He introduced BRICS as a block of nations that were not part of the West to push the concept of a multipolar world where new developing nations would have more of a say in the matters of world politics.
The outreach efforts by Putin to the leaders of Global South, including those in Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan only add to the Russian stance on building alliances away from the West. The engagement with Modi was an exercise in not just personal camaraderie between two leaders but strategic cooperation in addressing the challenges that their respective nations face in issues like economic development and counter-terrorism.
Key Findings and Future Potential
Several important agreements were signed during the recent BRICS Summit in Kazan, where forward-looking discussions featured on its agenda. Among the most significant are:
- Economic Cooperation: The two countries agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in trade, especially in energy, defense, and technology. In this context, the two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in the nuclear field because Russia already had an essential role to play in India’s nuclear energy generation.
- Defence and Security: Modi and Putin also considered the progress on ongoing cooperation in defense, especially on India’s procurement of Russian military equipment, including the S-400 missile defence system. Both the leaders restated their commitment to pushing defense relations for the maintenance of stability in that region, considering China’s increasing presence in the region.
- Pluralism and Multilateralism: the presence of Modi here reflected India’s commitment to pluralism and reforming global institutions such as the United Nations and WTO. BRICS, as a block, insist on an equitable global order with the need to overcome economic disparities between developed and developing nations.
- Ukraine Conflict: Ukraine conflict is never an official agenda item in the BRICS summit, but it features as the underlying area of discussion in most of the meetings. Modi and his government still re-echoed the call from India for peaceful settlement with confidence, indicating the delicate balance they are walking by keeping the cords of relations very warm while advocating for global peace stability.
Conclusion
The BRICS Summit 2024 comes to a close, and India and Russia further consolidate their strategic partnership as both sides reaffirm commitment to multilateral cooperation and global development. It is an important visit for Modi in the context of India’s rise in world diplomacy, and, for Putin, it is an example of how Russia can remain as relevant as ever despite the geopolitical challenges. The outcomes of this summit will, therefore, shape the future of global governance in particular and especially influence a more inclusive and equitable order in international relations.
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