India Hosts BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting Preparations; Iran and China FMs May Skip
Primary region BRICS
Tags Diplomacy
Regions BRICS · Asia · Middle East
India, as 2026 BRICS chair, is preparing to host the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting on May 14-15 in New Delhi. Six countries (Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia) are expected at foreign minister level, with others at deputy level. Iran's FM Abbas Araghchi is unlikely to attend due to the West Asia conflict, with Deputy FM Kazem Gharibabadi expected to lead the Iranian delegation. China's FM Wang Yi may also miss the meeting due to President Trump's planned visit to Beijing on the same dates. Russian FM Sergey Lavrov confirmed attendance. The meeting will see the Iranian deputy FM face Emirati and Saudi counterparts for the first time since the war began. India's BRICS 2026 theme is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.' Separately, India hosted the 5th BRICS SAI Summit in Bengaluru (May 7-8) and the BRICS Employment Working Group in Thiruvananthapuram (May 8).
Strategic interpretation
The potential absence of both Iranian and Chinese foreign ministers significantly diminishes the meeting's diplomatic weight, as the two most geopolitically consequential participants will be represented at lower levels. The Iran-UAE-Saudi dynamic at the meeting could still be diplomatically significant as a rare face-to-face encounter. India's ability to convene the full BRICS bloc despite these absences demonstrates its growing diplomatic centrality. The overlap with the Trump-Xi summit creates a competitive dynamic for Beijing's attention, potentially giving India more room to shape the BRICS agenda. The BRICS SAI and Employment Working Group meetings show India is using its chairship to advance practical cooperation on governance and labor issues.