New Delhi — Former career diplomat Rajiv Bhatia says India’s current term as BRICS chair is the most difficult and complex it has faced since the grouping began, describing the role as ‘wearing a crown of thorns.’
Bhatia, who served 37 years in the Indian Foreign Service with postings as ambassador to Myanmar and Mexico and as high commissioner to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho, said the present chairship is shaped by unusually turbulent global tensions — above all the crisis in the Middle East that involves several BRICS members.
India assumed the BRICS rotating chair for the fourth time, after previous terms in 2012, 2016 and 2021. According to Bhatia, this fourth stint is likely the most testing because Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia — all BRICS participants — are directly entangled in the regional fallout. He warned the situation has moved to a ‘no war, no peace’ dynamic since late February, complicating consensus-building inside the bloc.
The timing of BRICS meetings adds to the challenge. Bhatia noted the group’s foreign ministers were scheduled to meet on the same day that the US and Chinese presidents were holding talks in Beijing. He said India must try to broker a constructive, holistic formula on the Middle East acceptable to all BRICS members while simultaneously pushing forward the bloc’s economic cooperation agenda — a difficult diplomatic balancing act.
On the US-China summit in Beijing, Bhatia urged patience and said observers should wait for the full outcomes. He noted reports that President Xi Jinping emphasized Taiwan, and suggested Beijing was pressing Washington at a moment when the US president may be in a relatively vulnerable political position. At the same time, he saw signs that both Washington and Beijing have a mutual interest in limited accommodation to better manage rivalry and competition.
State events in Beijing underscored the diplomatic intensity around the talks. A state banquet was held at the Great Hall of the People for US President Donald Trump and his delegation, celebrating the historic ties between the two countries. Trump described the discussions as ‘extremely positive,’ invited Xi and his wife to visit the White House in September, and called the summit ‘the biggest ever,’ pledging ‘a fantastic future together.’
According to the White House, the two leaders agreed to establish a new ‘Board of Trade’ to deepen economic engagement.
Bhatia’s remarks highlight the twin pressures on India’s BRICS chairship: managing geopolitics tied to the Middle East conflict while keeping the bloc focused on economic and development priorities. How New Delhi navigates that tightrope will shape its leadership legacy in the grouping.
(This report is based on a syndicated feed from ANI and is published as received.)
