Roundtable “India’s BRICS Presidency: Expectations and Priority Areas”

On April 16, 2026, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a roundtable, “India’s BRICS Presidency: Expectations and Priority Areas.”

Opening remarks were delivered by Pavel Knyazev, Ambassador-at-Large for BRICS Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Russia’s BRICS Sous-Sherpa; Nikhilesh Giri, Deputy Head of Missassion at the Embassy of the Republic of India in the Russian Federation; Dmitry Kiku, Deputy Director General of RIAC; and Viktoria Panova, Vice-Rector of HSE University, Head of the BRICS Expert Council, Russia’s Sherpa in the Women’s Twenty (W20), and RIAC member.

On April 16, 2026, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a roundtable, “India’s BRICS Presidency: Expectations and Priority Areas.”

Opening remarks were delivered by Pavel Knyazev, Ambassador-at-Large for BRICS Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Russia’s BRICS Sous-Sherpa; Nikhilesh Giri, Deputy Head of Missassion at the Embassy of the Republic of India in the Russian Federation; Dmitry Kiku, Deputy Director General of RIAC; and Viktoria Panova, Vice-Rector of HSE University, Head of the BRICS Expert Council, Russia’s Sherpa in the Women’s Twenty (W20), and RIAC member.

In his remarks, Pavel Knyazev noted that in recent years BRICS has expanded significantly, becoming a center of attraction for states seeking a more just multipolar world order and a more representative system of global governance—primarily through reform of the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, which would allow developing regions to gain influence commensurate with their economic weight. BRICS, he emphasized, is a constructive, non-anti-Western force whose growing economic power and increasingly pronounced voice on the international stage are challenging the fading monopoly of the “collective West,” while remaining open to engagement with all interested partners. The Russian BRICS Sous-Sherpa also stressed that India’s 2026 presidency, taking place amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and intensified sanctions pressure, is focused on strengthening strategic partnership across all areas, with an emphasis on practical steps. These include linking central bank digital currencies of BRICS countries, creating an independent clearing and settlement system, deepening cooperation in energy and agriculture, and building resilient global value chains through new investment platforms and special economic zones. Key priorities also include enhancing the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, finalizing the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy up to 2030, and expanding cultural, youth, expert, and public engagement tracks, enabling BRICS to make a more substantial contribution to shaping a stable and equitable global political and economic order.

Nikhilesh Giri’s opening remarks emphasized that India’s 2026 BRICS presidency is grounded in the human-centric vision articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the principle of “humanity first.” This approach is reflected in four key priorities: economic resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainable development. Giri elaborated on these priorities. Strengthening resilience involves institutional capacity-building and coordinated preparation among BRICS countries in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, disaster risk reduction, energy, and supply chain resilience, with the aim of enhancing the group’s ability to withstand external shocks. Innovation is viewed as a key driver of equitable economic growth, with particular attention to technology startups, micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, as well as new technologies aimed at addressing socio-economic challenges in developing countries. Cooperation is understood in terms of fostering connectivity among societies through people-to-people engagement, including youth forums, cultural and educational programs, sports, tourism, and academic exchanges—measures intended to build a long-term sense of community among BRICS countries. Sustainable development encompasses climate action, including the expansion of green energy, as well as the adaptation of climate and energy policies to national conditions and priorities, while also aligning with efforts to enhance the representation and influence of BRICS countries in multilateral institutions. The Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of India in the Russian Federation also noted that New Delhi’s presidency is guided by the principles of continuity, consolidation, and consensus, with India and Russia standing out as key partners committed to a practical, human-centric, and results-oriented approach within BRICS.

In his opening remarks, Dmitry Kiku highlighted the issue of external pressure on BRICS countries and the need to deepen economic and financial cooperation. In the context of U.S. tariff and sanctions policies—including an executive order issued by the Trump administration in August 2025 banning the supply of Russian oil to India and threatening secondary sanctions—BRICS countries must develop a collective response to such unilateral measures, which extend beyond a purely bilateral agenda. According to Kiku, a key priority is the creation of independent financial mechanisms—above all, cross-border settlement systems insulated from Western interference, as well as proprietary payment infrastructures and resilient reinsurance mechanisms within BRICS. The implementation of these measures would also help safeguard critical transport corridors, including the east–west axis under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the International North–South Transport Corridor, and maritime routes through the Azov–Black Sea basin. Strengthening logistical and financial cooperation among BRICS countries, he argued, will enhance their competitiveness and expand their freedom to pursue independent economic policies.

Victoria Panova noted in her remarks that India’s BRICS presidency is unfolding in an exceptionally complex international environment marked by the aggressive behavior of certain states, violations of established rules in the areas of peace and security, trade, and finance, and a situation in which BRICS countries themselves are often positioned on opposite sides of global “barricades.” India, she argued, is shaping a set of priorities that allows it to rise above immediate conflicts, avoid excessive politicization of discussions, and focus on long-term, genuinely global issues such as reforming global governance and strengthening multilateralism. At the official, expert, public, and business levels, BRICS should not retreat from its role as a leader in developing new rules and models of cooperation that better reflect the interests of a broad range of countries—especially given that no other platform is prepared to assume this function. Panova also highlighted that India’s demographic advantages, its active support for youth initiatives and expert dialogue worldwide, and its strong civil society institutions serve as important resources for advancing this agenda. As a concrete step, she proposed that India initiate the creation of a BRICS Humanitarian Fund to support people affected by conflicts, natural disasters, and man-made emergencies, thereby demonstrating the relevance of the grouping and its capacity to deliver tangible benefits to ordinary people.

Following the opening remarks, Russian and Indian experts delivered their presentations as part of the roundtable discussion.

Harsh Pant, Vice President of the Observer Research Foundation, focused on the geopolitical context of India’s BRICS presidency. He emphasized that India assumes the chairmanship at a pivotal moment in the transformation of the global order. The effectiveness of global governance is at a low point, while the world is facing unprecedented challenges, the burden of which falls primarily on countries of the Global South and developing economies. According to Pant, India’s presidency creates a window of opportunity for BRICS to bring key global issues to the forefront, place them firmly on the agenda, and demonstrate the collective willingness of a significant part of the world to seek solutions without reducing everything to geopolitical confrontation. The 2026 agenda of India’s BRICS presidency appears as a logical continuation of Brazil’s emphasis on Global South cooperation and builds on India’s experience during its G20 presidency. At the same time, Pant noted that the core challenge facing BRICS remains geopolitical. Following the expansion of the grouping, member states hold divergent views on major international developments, particularly those in the Middle East. The key task, therefore, is to deliver tangible outcomes that enable countries with differing geopolitical positions to find common ground and coordinate their approaches. India’s BRICS presidency, he concluded, should be seen as a strategic extension of its broader foreign policy—aimed at strengthening its role as a partner in economic development, a provider of technology, an advocate for reform of global institutions, and a stabilizing force in international relations. Through its presidency, India seeks to demonstrate concrete results that reaffirm its commitment to building a more just and multipolar world order.

In her remarks, Tatyana Shaumyan, Head of the Center for Indian Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, highlighted the political dynamics and challenges facing BRICS. The grouping is undergoing nearly a twofold expansion, and alongside its core members, a broad circle of partners with diverse political and economic profiles is taking shape. These partners include countries from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, as well as Turkey, a NATO member. Shaumyan warned that further expansion without strengthening internal cohesion could weaken BRICS’ potential as a center of global power. The group now includes new members and engaged regions across the Arab world, Africa, and Asia, with the total number of partners approaching 25. At the same time, the relations of both member and partner countries with the United States, China, and Russia remain dynamic and evolving. BRICS continues to serve as an important platform for discussing key global issues. India, she noted, is leveraging economic development as the foundation for enhancing its status as a major power and for advancing an expanded agenda that bridges both Western formats and the Global South, with a focus on promoting a more equitable world order.

Olga Kharina, Head of the South Asia Studies Sector at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, focused in her remarks on the digital dimension of BRICS cooperation. In her view, India’s presidency marks a shift from predominantly political coordination toward practical cooperation built around systems, platforms, and concrete projects. India is promoting a model of digital public infrastructure—such as the Aadhaar and UPI initiatives—as a shared, low-cost, and inclusive tool that could serve as a foundation for cross-border payments, cooperation in digital identity, and the development of common standards for public digital services. Kharina emphasized that India positions itself not as a rule-imposer, but as a provider of open, framework-based solutions that link development and security agendas while encouraging flexible formats of interaction amid the growing diversity of BRICS membership.

Energy cooperation within BRICS was addressed in the remarks of Amit Bhandari, Senior Fellow at Gateway House. He noted that despite ongoing global discussions on the energy transition, BRICS countries must respond to current vulnerabilities stemming from their dependence on oil and gas supplies, as price volatility and sanctions affect all members—albeit in different but significant ways. Using India as an example, Bhandari pointed out that rising oil and gas prices increase pressure on the economy and undermine, among other things, food security. At the same time, U.S. sanctions against Russia and Iran have had a more limited impact on their energy sectors, as their economies rely on a high concentration of large, export-oriented energy companies. Bhandari proposed making the stability of oil and gas markets a central priority for both India’s BRICS presidency and the grouping as a whole, accompanied by a set of concrete measures. These include:

— the creation of BRICS strategic energy reserves located in importing countries and jointly owned by importers and exporters, to be used exclusively within BRICS and only in emergencies

— the establishment of a BRICS Energy Stability Fund to finance such reserves for less affluent members, with collective decision-making on their use

— support for the development of smaller energy companies and refineries that require less external financing and technology, making them less vulnerable to sanctions

— the designation of specialized financial institutions and the reorientation of state mechanisms to facilitate intra-BRICS energy transactions while bypassing sanction-sensitive channels

— the promotion of cross-investment in the extractive sector through instruments similar to exchange-traded funds, enabling broader participation in BRICS energy assets

— the extension of this model to critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements

Taken together, these measures are intended to reduce vulnerability to sanctions and price shocks and to build a more resilient energy and resource architecture within BRICS.

Pyotr Topychkanov, Head of the Laboratory “New Challenges in South and Southeast Asia” and Research Fellow at the Center for the Indo-Pacific Region at IMEMO, highlighted several key factors to consider. First, he noted the emergence of a cautious, “conservative” approach within the BRICS agenda, prioritizing the improvement of existing mechanisms rather than creating new ones or duplicating established structures. Second, discussions around the creation of new emergency or humanitarian funds within BRICS take into account that many response functions are already carried out by regional organizations. Third, the export of India’s digital platforms will inevitably entail the export of associated cyber risks, making enhanced cooperation in cybersecurity essential. Fourth, in the energy sphere, BRICS would benefit from focusing on areas where concrete frameworks and partnerships already exist, such as cooperation in civilian nuclear energy. Fifth, Topychkanov emphasized the need for BRICS to make more active use of soft power tools, including initiatives in fashion, as well as sports and educational exchanges. He also stressed the growing importance of continuity, institutional coordination between summits, and year-round engagement of youth, small businesses, and civil society in the activities of the grouping.

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