KEY POINTS
- Putin and Xi to attend BRICS summit on US trade tariffs; Modi to skip.
- India to be represented by its foreign minister instead of the prime minister.
- New Delhi is cautious in its dealings with Washington after Trump eased rhetoric towards India.
- Brazil convened the meeting to rally emerging economies behind multilateralism.
- Trump’s tariffs and criticism of BRICS push members closer to Beijing.
BRASILIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will join a BRICS leaders’ summit convened by Brazil on Monday over US trade policy, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend, fuelling speculation over New Delhi’s cautious stance.
The BRICS leaders’ summit will discuss US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, but Modi will not participate, according to officials cited by media reports.
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that President Xi would join the online meeting from Beijing and deliver an important speech.
“President Xi Jinping will attend the BRICS Leaders’ online summit in Beijing on Sep 8 and deliver an important speech,” according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Putin will also take part in the summit, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week, according to Russian news agency TASS.
India, however, will be represented by its foreign minister rather than Modi. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi on Friday that the prime minister would not attend the meeting.
Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called the virtual summit to discuss not only the trade tariffs imposed by Trump, but also to rally fellow heads of major emerging market nations in support of multilateralism, Bloomberg News reported last week, citing sources familiar with the plan.
BRICS, which includes South Africa, has increasingly drawn the ire of Trump as it expands with new members from Asia and the Middle East.
In July, the US president threatened to impose additional tariffs on any country aligning itself with the group’s “anti-American policies”. He has also repeatedly criticised efforts by BRICS members to boost trade in their own currencies and bypass the US dollar.
But Trump’s tariffs have further encouraged BRICS nations to increase ties with Beijing.
The summit, scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, is expected to last a few hours, according to a Brazilian government official.
The speeches will be closed to the press, and there will be no joint statement afterwards. Each leader will decide individually whether to release their remarks.
The BRICS grouping — which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has drawn increasing criticism from Trump as it seeks to expand with new members from Asia and the Middle East.
In July, the US president warned that countries supporting what he called the bloc’s “anti-American policies” could face additional tariffs. He has also criticised BRICS efforts to trade in local currencies rather than the US dollar.
Analysts note that Washington’s tariffs have driven some BRICS members to strengthen ties with Beijing.
Last week, Xi hosted both Putin and Modi at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, and welcomed dozens of world leaders, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, to Beijing for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Bloomberg reported that New Delhi has acted cautiously in its dealings with Washington after Trump appeared to ease his rhetoric towards India, following weeks of friction over 50 percent tariffs imposed on Indian goods.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently suggested that India might return to the negotiating table within months to seek a trade deal.
New Delhi has not issued any further explanation for Modi’s non-attendance at the BRICS summit.
