When South Africa hosted the 15th Brics Summit from 22 to 24 August 2023 in Johannesburg, several world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended. The issue of the bloc’s expansion was extensively deliberated. Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to travel and thus skipped the summit. In a move to strengthen its claim of being a ‘voice of the Global South’, six countries ~ Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE ~ that had shown interest were invited to join the alliance.

As mentioned, this decision raises hope as well as fear of China’s increasing dominance. It is however a truism that the addition of the developing nations to the bloc indicates establishing a solid coalition to serve the interests of the Global South In this scenario, it would be relevant to examine India’s position and what it means for New Delhi when some members of the Asean group have evinced an interest to join. Some reports say that more than 40 nations have indicated an interest in joining the bloc of major developing economies. Other reports claim that 30 countries have conveyed their willingness to join the group, with 22 of them applying formally. This figure might increase with the interest of some countries of the Asean grouping. The fact is that many countries see that being a part of Brics is a major opportunity.

It was China that first initiated the conversation in 2022 about expanding the body as it tried to build diplomatic clout to counter the West’s dominance in the United Nations and push forward its economy after the Covid slowdown. While China and South Africa support the expansion and Russia should fall in line with China, India and Brazil are concerned that their own influence will diminish. India views such a rapid expansion of........

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