BRICS should be non-West, not anti-West, says Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said some countries other than India in BRICS are very happy to consider the grouping as an “anti-Western” platform and asserted that such an outlook was not in India’s national interest.

Tharoor asserted that BRICS should be a forum that is “non-West, but not anti-West”.

Speaking with PTI Videos, the former minister of state for external affairs also said hosting BRICS is a matter of “great prestige” for India, with a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of BRICS but also some observers, coming at presidential and prime ministerial level.

Tharoor said that as chair, India has a particular responsibility to showcase the concerns of the Global South, while also bearing very carefully in mind India’s direct national interests.

“We want BRICS to be a forum that is non-West, but not anti-West. That is not the same agenda as every other country. Some others in BRICS are very happy to take it as a geopolitical non-Western, but also anti-Western platform,” the senior Congress leader said.

“And I would like to say that that would not be in India’s national interest,” he added.

Tharoor noted that with several world leaders in India, there will be significant bilateral conversations.

“Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is bound to be meeting each of the visiting heads of state and government who seek a meeting. And that may mean a dozen important meetings with these country leaders.

“And for us, of course, both the meeting with President Xi and the meeting with President Putin are going to grab world headlines,” he said, adding there would be other key important meetings.

On India-China ties, Tharoor said the difficulties in the relationship have come entirely from one side, as ever since the Galwan tragedy of 2020, the relations between the two countries have been completely in bad shape.

“And on top of that, the Chinese have been undertaking a lot of acts that can only be considered hostile. They’ve been trying to change, in various portions, the ground realities along the border, along the undefined border between our two countries.

“They have made statements that we cannot consider helpful. They have been very difficult on issues like visas for Indians, randomly rejecting many of them,” Tharoor said.

And worst of all, the Chinese have used a lot of trade leverage; that is, they have exploited the dependency of Indian importers on a lot of essential Chinese goods to simply withhold these goods when it suited them, he said.

“A self-respecting India is not going to keep knuckling under to those things. I think it’s important to understand that we will also stand up for ourselves in one way or the other.

“So yes, the bilateral relationship, the bilateral meeting, is potentially very important, but what we’re looking for is a little more flexibility, understanding, and friendship coming from the Chinese side than they’ve shown us in the last six years,” he said.

Tharoor said that through the BRICS Summit, India is providing an important platform for the Global South.

“This grouping, the 11 BRICS countries, represents a majority of the world’s population and 41 per cent of global GDP. It’s not a small matter; it’s something that has to be taken very seriously by the rest of the world. Secondly, of course, having a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of BRICS but also some observers coming at the presidential and prime ministerial level, this is a matter of great prestige for us,” he said.

“It shows a certain diplomatic convening power, which has value in and of itself on the global stage,” the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Listing the challenges, Tharoor said it is difficult to find a convergence of views, for example, on an agreed declaration on global issues.

“When the foreign ministers tried to meet in the summer, they couldn’t agree on the Iran-Iraq war, on the Russia-Ukraine war and so on, on how to express a collective view. And that would be a challenge.

“When the foreign ministers met, we ended up with India as chairman issuing a chairman’s declaration rather than an agreed joint declaration. Will that happen again, which would perhaps be seen by some as a setback and perhaps even as an indication of the group’s fundamental incoherence, or will we be able to paper over the differences? That’s going to be a real challenge for our diplomats,” Tharoor said.

Talking about practical matters, the Congress leader said trade among the BRICS countries has been growing, but in many ways to India’s disadvantage, with its exports to the BRICS countries having gone down, while its imports having gone up, which should be considered for improvement.

“There are other challenges -- you know that the Americans currently have a law signed by President (Donald) Trump that authorises him to levy 100 per cent sanctions if we continue trading with Russia. Now, you and I know that if there are 100 per cent sanctions and every Indian item is sanctioned, it will be unviable in the American market,” Tharoor said.

“So, can we use this platform to also diversify our export markets, diversify our channels of communication? If our friendship with America is turning out to be so unpredictable and volatile, do we also not need to have other options, other doors and windows open with other countries? All of these are issues which are very much at the back of our minds,” he said.