NEW DELHI
\nBrics leaders including China, Russia and India, entered a second day of talks in New Delhi on Sunday, discussing \u201cinclusive global growth\u201d, after reaching rare agreement calling for calm in the Middle East.
\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for \u201ccooperation\u201d within the bloc, which he has said represents \u201c50 per cent of the world\u2019s population, 40pc of global GDP and more than 25pc of global trade\u201d. \u201cThe power of Brics lies in our diversity and cooperation,\u201d Modi told leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the final day of talks.
\nBrics was created in 2009 as a forum for major emerging economies seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers. The group is seeking to bolster its global influence and address conflict, trade turbulence and energy security. \u201cWe have tried to push inclusive global growth,\u201d Modi said.
\n\u201cWe may be rooted in different realities, but together we rise through cooperation and blossom for humanity,\u201d he said. The first day of the summit on Saturday was dominated by the conflict in the Middle East. Brics foreign ministers had failed to agree on a joint statement in New Delhi in May, with Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates divided over the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28.
\nHowever, leaders \u2014 who also included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian \u2014 issued a statement after intense diplomatic efforts by host India. \u201cWe express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East\/West Asia,\u201d the joint statement said, adding that the Brics countries \u201ccall for exercising maximum restraint\u201d.
\nModi maintains cordial relations with both Iran and US ally Israel, but is also careful to strike a delicate balance in India\u2019s ties with Washington. India has navigated the energy crisis caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran in part by turning to Russia, despite Moscow\u2019s war in Ukraine and pressure from Washington and other Western capitals.
\nXi\u2019s participation in Brics is also important because it is his first visit to neighbouring India since 2019, and the biggest step yet in a cautious thaw between the nuclear-armed rivals. His visit comes six years after a deadly military clash along the disputed Tibetan border between China and India, with ties gradually improving through restored flights, visas and high-level contacts.
\n\u201cAlthough our two countries are different in many respects, they are fully capable of complementing each other\u2019s strengths, supporting one another, achieving mutual success and advancing together,\u201d Xi said as he met Modi, according to a video released by New Delhi.
\nThe underlying territorial dispute remains unresolved, and both sides retain heavy military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) high-altitude border. India\u2019s foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting that \u201cthe two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question\u201d.
\nDeep mistrust remains, with a widening trade deficit and strategic rivalry complicating ties. \u201cBoth sides should \u2026 work hand-in-hand to promote high-quality major financial cooperation, advocate an equal and sustainable global order, and foster an economic globalisation that is open and inclusive,\u201d Xi said.
\nXi\u2019s visit was the target of protests by dozens of Tibetans in New Delhi, exiles like their Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing a Chinese crackdown in 1959.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI Brics leaders including China, Russia and India, entered a second day of talks in New Delhi on Sunday, discussing \u201cinclusive global growth\u201d, after reaching rare agreement calling for calm in the Middle East. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for \u201ccooperation\u201d within the bloc, which he has said represents \u201c50 per cent of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567105,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-567134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n