Beyond hugs and goodwill, leaders of Russia and Iran return home from BRICS empty-handed

(From left) Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, India’s PM Narendra Modi, China’s President Xi Jinping and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa during the BRICS summit in New Delhi, on Sept 12.

BRUSSELS – The BRICS organisation was designed as an alternative to a world dominated by a handful of powerful Western nations led by the United States.

Its member states account for a combined 40 per cent of the world’s total economic output compared with 29 per cent for the Western-dominated G7. They are pledged to transform the old “pyramid of privilege” – as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the host of this year’s summit, put it – “into a platform of partnership”.