Beyond BRICS, Quad: Focus on mundane over grand designs

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a multi-nation tour across two continents, there is much to do on the bilateral front with all of them. The main destination is Brazil, where the annual BRICS summit is being held. The long journey to South America has also opened doors for bilateral engagements with Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago. En route to and from the region, the PM is stopping over in Ghana and Namibia. But this is no time for expansive ideological ambition. India must focus instead on securing its interests in a turbulent world.

Not too long ago, BRICS seemed well-placed to change the world. But the deepening divisions within BRICS — most notably between India and China — highlight the forum’s internal contradictions. The refusal of Argentine President Javier Milei to join BRICS further underlines that not all nations see the forum with starry eyes.

At a time when US President Donald Trump is upending American foreign policy and the global order, Delhi’s priorities must be pragmatic: To consolidate the economic and political opportunities at hand on the external front. That in turn is about pursuing India’s foremost task – self-strengthening at home. In an uncertain world, national resilience and state capability are more important than sweeping pronouncements about the world order. Over the last decade of Modi’s tenure, two global forums — BRICS and the Quad — have consumed a significant amount of India’s diplomatic bandwidth. Both are in focus this week. While the PM prepares for the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in Washington for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting.