This weekend, some of the most powerful people in the world gathered in Delhi around a vast circular table. Among those listening were members of the Brics group, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
These are hardly natural allies. They have histories of border disputes and even military confrontations.
India and China engaged in a deadly clash along their disputed border in 2020. Iran and the UAE have been on opposing ends of the war in the Middle East, with Tehran launching missiles and drones at its fellow Brics member as the conflict sent shockwaves across global economies.
The fact that India was able to gather these leaders together in person is a feat in and of itself and testament to its diplomatic reach. The weekend also provided a platform for countries to reassess their relationships in light of the Iran war.
But agreeing on what a new global order should look like and achieving clear, tangible outcomes was a much harder task, and that tension ran through this weekend's summit. The summit succeeded in delivering a joint declaration when divisions among members have rarely been so glaring.
Twice earlier this year, meetings between Brics ministers had failed to produce a joint statement. This time a consensus was reached, but by side-stepping issues that members sharply disagree on, with few solutions.
The " New Delhi Declaration" was adopted on the first day of the summit. But what is striking is what it doesn't say.
On the war in the Middle East, the declaration urges "maximum restraint". It also condemns "attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities" but assigns no blame.
It reiterates support for a two-state solution, opposes forced displacement of Palestinians or actions that could "legitimise or prolong occupation", framing it carefully around existing UN resolutions. It makes no mention at all of Russia's war in Ukraine, a departure from previous Brics declarations.
There is similar caution on trade. It lists concerns over "indiscriminate rising tariffs" and condemns unilateral sanctions but stops short of naming the US, and is likely to avoid Washington's ire.
