New Delhi

Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said on Friday that BRICS member nations were able to arrive at common positions on nearly all major issues discussed across the grouping’s three core areas of cooperation during the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Addressing a special media briefing on the BRICS meeting, Dalela highlighted that the outcome document reflected broad consensus among member countries on issues ranging from global governance reforms to terrorism and climate change.

“As Chair, our role was to facilitate dialogue among all member nations. I am pleased to say that across almost all subjects under the three pillars of BRICS cooperation, common ground was achieved,” he said.

Dalela noted that the final outcome document, which has been made public, contains 63 paragraphs and covers key topics including global governance reform, agriculture, healthcare, terrorism, climate action, the United Nations Security Council and human-centric artificial intelligence.

He described the document as a strong and constructive outcome that would serve as the foundation for preparations leading up to the BRICS Summit later this year. More than 20 ministerial-level thematic meetings are expected to take place ahead of the summit.

Speaking about the situation in West Asia, Dalela acknowledged that member countries held differing views on some regional aspects of the crisis. However, he said there was broad agreement on the need for diplomacy, respect for sovereignty, early de-escalation and the protection of maritime trade routes.

“There was frank and candid discussion on West Asia. While there were some differences in perspective, members agreed on the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and peaceful resolution of disputes,” he said, adding that India, as Chair, had transparently reflected those views in the outcome document.

On Palestine, Dalela said BRICS nations reiterated their long-standing collective position supporting the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. He stressed that this was consistent with previous BRICS declarations and not a shift in policy.

The MEA official also referred to discussions on global trade and tariffs, saying member nations expressed concern over unilateral trade measures and their impact on developing economies. He reiterated BRICS’ support for a rules-based, inclusive and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system centred on the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Chair’s Statement and Outcome Document released after the meeting underlined concerns over growing global polarization and mistrust. BRICS foreign ministers called for stronger international cooperation to safeguard peace and security and advocated political and diplomatic solutions to conflicts.

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The statement further emphasised the importance of dialogue, mediation and preventive diplomacy in resolving disputes, while reaffirming the principle that security is indivisible among nations. Ministers also supported exploring greater cooperation in conflict prevention, UN peacekeeping operations and mediation efforts in crisis-hit regions.