India's upcoming chairship of BRICS in 2026 took center stage at the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting held on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA). The meeting was chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who highlighted the group’s role as a "voice of reason" focusing on priorities such as food and energy security, digital transformation, and UN reforms during India’s presidency.

The ministers expressed strong condemnation of terrorism, particularly singling out the April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives.

They reiterated their firm commitment to combating terrorism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, terrorist financing, and safe havens, urging zero tolerance and rejecting double standards. This condemnation aligned with India’s rebuke of Pakistan-backed terrorist groups and the glorification of terrorism by Pakistan’s leadership at the UNGA.

On reforms of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the BRICS ministers reiterated strong support for the 2023 Johannesburg-II Leaders’ Declaration calling for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including making the Security Council more democratic, representative, effective, and efficient. 

The ministers explicitly backed the aspirations of India and Brazil for a greater role in the UN and its Security Council, with China and Russia, both permanent UNSC members, reiterating their support for India’s bid for permanent membership. The reform agenda also emphasised amplifying the voice of the Global South.

Trade concerns featured prominently, with ministers voicing alarm over rising trade barriers, protectionist policies, and unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures that disrupt global trade and supply chains.

The statement implicitly criticised the US's imposition of a 50% tariff on Indian goods linked to India's Russian oil imports and described such coercive measures as threats to global trade stability, economic development prospects, and risks of fragmenting the global trade system. The BRICS reaffirmed their commitment to a non-discriminatory, open, equitable, rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core and cautioned against practices marginalising the Global South.

The meeting was attended by foreign ministers from the original BRICS members—Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa—and new members including Iran, Indonesia, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt, highlighting BRICS’s growing influence as a platform for the Global South.

Summary of Key Points:

India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship confirmed and supported; focus on food, energy security, digital transformation, and UN reforms.

Strong, unanimous condemnation of terrorism, with special mention of the Pahalgam attack and call for zero tolerance.

Renewed call for comprehensive UNSC reform with explicit backing for India's permanent membership ambition.

Deep concern over escalating, unilateral trade barriers and protectionism; call for WTO-led fair trade practices.

BRICS growing as a platform representing the Global South, including new member nations.

This meeting sets a critical tone for India’s upcoming leadership role in BRICS and its broader international diplomatic objectives at the UN and beyond.

Based On ANI Report