Relations Over Rivalry: India Looks to Build BRICS Bridges in Uncertain World

India is seeking to use the BRICS platform to strengthen cooperation among emerging economies while keeping diplomatic channels open with countries that may have differences with New Delhi on strategic and political issues. The approach comes at a time when geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts and growing competition among major powers are creating new challenges for the international system. Indias engagement with BRICS reflects its broader foreign-policy strategy of maintaining relations with different power centres without aligning itself completely with any one geopolitical bloc. New Delhi has continued to deepen its partnerships with the United States and other Western countries while maintaining important ties with Russia, China and countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

The expanded BRICS grouping has given India a larger platform to engage with developing economies and push issues linked to the interests of the Global South. The groupings growing membership has increased its economic and political weight, but it has also brought together countries with significantly different foreign-policy priorities. The challenge is to ensure that these differences do not prevent BRICS from functioning as a platform for practical cooperation. New Delhi is expected to place emphasis on areas such as economic development, trade, technology, energy security, healthcare, climate change and infrastructure, where countries can cooperate despite wider geopolitical disagreements.

Indias relationship with China remains one of the most closely watched aspects of its BRICS diplomacy. The two countries have faced serious tensions since the 2020 border crisis, although subsequent diplomatic and military-level engagement has focused on maintaining peace and stability along the frontier. Their participation in BRICS provides another avenue for communication at a time when competition between the two Asian powers continues across several areas.

While India and China continue to have differences over the border, trade and regional influence, New Delhi has maintained that dialogue remains important. Cooperation within a multilateral forum does not necessarily require countries to resolve all their bilateral disputes, but regular engagement can help prevent disagreements from completely dominating the relationship.

The wider geopolitical environment is making this approach increasingly important. Conflicts in different parts of the world have affected energy markets, trade routes and global supply chains, creating economic concerns for countries far beyond the immediate areas of conflict. India, with its large energy requirements and extensive international trade links, has a direct interest in maintaining stability and keeping diplomatic options open.

The situation in West Asia is particularly significant for India. Several BRICS members have important interests in the region, while instability involving major energy-producing countries can have consequences for global oil prices, shipping and trade. Indias long-standing relationships with countries on different sides of regional divides have allowed it to maintain a balanced diplomatic approach. India is unlikely to support efforts to turn BRICS into a formal anti-Western alliance. New Delhi has repeatedly maintained partnerships with Western countries while participating in groupings that include Russia and China. Its approach is based on strategic autonomy and a preference for a multipolar international order in which countries retain the ability to pursue their own national interests.

The Global South remains another important part of Indias BRICS agenda. Developing countries have increasingly called for greater representation in international institutions and improved access to development finance, technology and investment. India has supported reforms in global institutions and has sought to highlight the concerns of developing economies in international forums.

The expansion of BRICS has strengthened the groups potential to influence discussions on these issues. However, its long-term relevance will depend on whether its members can turn their growing economic and political weight into practical cooperation. Initiatives involving trade, financial connectivity, technology, healthcare, infrastructure and development could provide areas where the grouping can deliver tangible results.

The objective is therefore not simply to build political unity among countries that have different strategic interests. Instead, New Delhi appears to be pursuing a more flexible approach in which dialogue and cooperation can continue even when disagreements remain unresolved. As global rivalries become sharper and the international order becomes increasingly fragmented, Indias role within BRICS could increasingly involve building bridges between competing interests. For New Delhi, maintaining relationships despite rivalry may prove more useful than forcing countries into opposing camps. In an uncertain global environment, Indias message is increasingly centred on engagement: countries do not have to agree on every issue to cooperate, and geopolitical competition does not necessarily have to close the door to diplomacy.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Hindustan Times.