BRICS Leaders Have Sent an Unmistakable Message to US - BJP Leader
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"BRICS isn’t just a bloc—it’s becoming a political counterweight. Washington must decide whether to engage with this changing world order through meaningful reform or risk watching it evolve without its leadership," BJP politician Savio Rodrigues told Sputnik India.
The BRICS' Leaders Declaration adopted on the first day of the 17th Summit in Rio De Janeiro sends a clear strategic message to the US and the West, Indian observers have told Sputnik India.
"The BRICS Leaders’ Declaration sends a calibrated but clear strategic message — multilateralism must evolve to reflect the voices of the Global South," said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Savio Rodrigues.
Rodrigues noted that even though the 'Rio De Janeiro Declaration' refrained from naming the US directly, it's underlying critique was "unmistakable".
"The post-World War II global governance structure disproportionately serves the interests of a few, often at the expense of many. Calls for reform in the United Nations, World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) are not new, but BRICS’ unified push gives them fresh weight and urgency," the Indian politician said.
Rodrigues said that concerns of the Global South, be it in global security, governance or any other domain, can't be ignored by the US and its western partners.
"The US would be wise not to dismiss this as mere posturing. The erosion of trust in Western-dominated institutions, coupled with rising economic interdependence among emerging powers, could reshape global alignments," he said.
Without directly referring to the US, the 26 paragraph-long BRICS Leaders' Declaration calls for urgent reforms at the UN and multilateral institutions, mainly the Bretton Woods Institutions headquartered in Washington.
Dammu Ravi, the Secretary (Economic Relations) at India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told a press conference on Sunday that the formulation in the Leaders' Declaration on the issue of global reforms has been further strengthened as compared to joint communiques at Kazan (2024) and Johannesburg (2023).
With regards to the IMF, the BRICS Leaders have called for expending the quota and governance reforms to bolster representation of EMDCs in the IMF Executive Board as well as commitment to global climate financing goals to meet the $4.2 trillion funding gap.
The 11 BRICS leaders have also voiced concerns over the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules. The reference comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's tariff diplomacy, which has had significant implications for countries like China and India.
In the realm of peace and security, BRICS leaders have condemned the strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities by the US on 13 June.
Further, the BRICS leaders have expressed concern over the geopolitical polarisation and fragmentation, as they criticised the rising global military spending in the wake of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) nations committing a five percent of their GDPs to defence spending.
Significantly, the US President posted on Truth Social soon after the BRICS Leaders' Declaration was made public. In his post, Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on any nation aligning itself with the "anti-American policies of BRICS".
Former Indian diplomat Ambassador Anil Trigunayat told Sputnik India that the BRICS Summit has been able to re-emphasize several global challenges disproportionately impacting the Global South countries and disrupting the established global norms and rules in "unprecedented ways".
Dammu Ravi, the Secretary (Economic Relations) at India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told a press conference on Sunday that the formulation in the Leaders' Declaration on the issue of global reforms has been further strengthened as compared to joint communiques at Kazan (2024) and Johannesburg (2023).
With regards to the IMF, the BRICS Leaders have called for expending the quota and governance reforms to bolster representation of EMDCs in the IMF Executive Board as well as commitment to global climate financing goals to meet the $4.2 trillion funding gap.
The 11 BRICS leaders have also voiced concerns over the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules. The reference comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's tariff diplomacy, which has had significant implications for countries like China and India.
In the realm of peace and security, BRICS leaders have condemned the strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities by the US on 13 June.
Further, the BRICS leaders have expressed concern over the geopolitical polarisation and fragmentation, as they criticised the rising global military spending in the wake of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) nations committing a five percent of their GDPs to defence spending.
Significantly, the US President posted on Truth Social soon after the BRICS Leaders' Declaration was made public. In his post, Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on any nation aligning itself with the "anti-American policies of BRICS".
Former Indian diplomat Ambassador Anil Trigunayat told Sputnik India that the BRICS Summit has been able to re-emphasize several global challenges disproportionately impacting the Global South countries and disrupting the established global norms and rules in "unprecedented ways".
"Unilateralism in the international discourse has become increasingly fashionable be that autonomous tariffs or exacerbating sanctions. Moreover global challenges like terrorism ,climate change and developmental issues had taken a back seat which have been once again brought to the forefront," Trigunayat said, while noting PM Modi's global solidarity call on the issue of terrorism.
Commenting on BRICS-backed trends of expanding use of local currency in trade, Trigunayat said that BRICS has remained committed to finding ways to do trade with least negativity.
"In its 2026 Presidency, India will cement these initiatives even more," the ex-Indian diplomat concluded.
