BRICS+ cooperation in a complex economic and geopolitical environment: Opportunities and impediments

Russian President Vladimir Putin while speaking at the plenary session of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 5 made some very important points. While commenting on the growing influence of BRICS on the global economy, he said that BRICS over the past five years has contributed 49% to global growth while the G7 has contributed 18%. The Russian President also pointed to the growing trade within BRICS. Said Putin: “During the existence of BRICS, its share of global merchandise trade has more than doubled. Our member states accounted for almost a quarter of global exports. And this figure continues to grow steadily. So does intra-BRICS trade turnover, which has already exceeded US$1 trillion. […] BRICS countries have significantly increased high-tech exports.” Putin also pointed to the strides made by BRICS+ member states in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology. In a changing geopolitical situation and economic landscape there is no doubt that there is immense scope for BRICS despite differences between members on several issues. Important obstacles to BRICS+ cooperation A few points need to be borne in mind. First, despite growing convergence on several issues there are bound to be differences due to the differing foreign policy orientation of BRICS+ member states. On the issue of trade in local currencies for instance, India which is the current chair of BRICS+ has repeatedly stated that is not in favour of a common BRICS+ currency or what is dubbed as ‘de-dollarisation’ per se but will support trade in local currencies. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned of sanctions against BRICS member states if they try to challenge the US Dollar. BRICS is looking at ways by which intra-BRICS trade can be facilitated in local currencies. Second, on the recent West Asia conflict, which ended after the announcement of an end of the three-month war by the US on June 14, BRICS members were unable to come up with any consensus. Two BRICS+ member states UAE and Iran were participants in the conflict. During a BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting held in New Delhi, on May 15-16, 2026, there were heated exchanges between representatives of both countries. At the end of the meeting a joint statement remained elusive. India issued a chair statement. This raises several questions regarding the ability of BRICS+ to play a decisive role on important geopolitical issues. Third, Putin during his speech, made references to how China has made strides in AI and India has done well in the sphere of tech. It is important to point out, that due to strained ties between India and China cooperation in the sphere of tech even under the BRICS+ rubric is tough. India has in fact emerged as an active participant in Western ‘China+1’ supply chains. Several companies such as Apple, Foxconn (an electronics manufacturer), Samsung and Amazon have expanded operations in India. Google is investing $15 billion over five years to set up an AI data centre in Vaishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). Fourth, while BRICS+ will benefit from the expansion of the organisation, the entry of new countries will also bring new challenges. Finally, while Putin spoke about BRICS+ overtaking G7, member states of BRICS+ like India and Indonesia view themselves as a bridge between G7 and BRICS+. PM Modi attended the G7 Summit in Evian (France) earlier this month. India, while not being a member of G7, has been a regular invitee since 2019. Both France, as the current Chair of G7 and India which holds the BRICS presidency have reiterated their commitment to multilateralism. While India’s approach vis-à-vis the West and organisations like G7 is different from several BRICS+ members, the French President Emmanuel Macron has said that G7 should not be ‘anti-China’ or ‘anti-BRICS’. There is scope for BRICS+ to give a strong push to intra-BRICS trade, in local currencies, given the increasingly uncertain economic environment. Apart from this, BRICS+ can explore cooperation in areas like agriculture, urbanisation and digital technologies. In a changing international higher education landscape, there is potential for BRICS+ members and partner countries to strengthen linkages between scholars and students from BRICS+ universities. It is important to be realistic regarding some of the differences which persist between BRICS+ member states in terms of foreign policy orientation. While BRICS+ is often presented as an alternative to the existing global economic architecture dominated by the west, several member states and partner countries of BRICS+ do not view the organisation from such a simplistic prism. While ties between China and India have improved in recent years and China has repeatedly stated that it would support India’s Chairmanship of BRICS+ it remains to be seen if Beijing genuinely supports India’s BRICS presidency. [Photo by Presidential Communications Office, Russia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons] The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. Tridivesh Singh Maini is a New Delhi based analyst interested in Punjab-Punjab linkages as well as Partition Studies. Maini co-authored ‘Humanity Amidst Insanity: Hope During and After the Indo-Pak Partition’ (New Delhi: UBSPD, 2008) with Tahir Malik and Ali Farooq Malik. He can be reached at tridivesh80@hotmail.com.