FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI India emerges as Russia’s biggest fuel import source Page 10 Saudi has few options as it faces mounting threats NATION Rahul Gandhi takes culinary swipe at BRICS gala menu Page 5 Page 9 PM seeks wider Global South role for BRICS SHAHID K ABBAS New Delhi, 13 September P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday placed resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability at the centre of India’s vision for BRICS, arguing that the grouping’s growing diversity and influence could help shape a more inclusive global order in which solutions are developed with the Global South rather than merely for it. Addressing the session of the 18th BRICS Summit on the second day of the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Development”, Modi welcomed leaders to what he described as an increasingly influential and trusted BRICS family, saying the gathering brought together countries from different continents, cultures and development trajectories. “Today this hall is bringing together different continents, cultures and development journeys. This is a testimony to the growing strength, attraction and unprecedented confidence in BRICS,” Modi said. India, which assumed the BRICS chairmanship on January 1, has structured its presidency around the four pillars of resilience, innovation, Monday, 14 September 2026 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS | cooperation and sustainability. Modi said New Delhi had sought to translate the grouping’s shared vision into practical, mutually beneficial cooperation with the support of all member countries. His address came against the backdrop of a world marked by mounting geopolitical tensions, economic disruptions and a succession of transnational crises. Modi said the increasing number of conflicts and tensions was having a “very negative” and wide-ranging impact on ordinary people, underscoring the need for greater collective preparedness. “The number of tensions in the world is continuously increasing, and it is also having a very negative and widespread impact on the lives of ordinary people,” he said. The Covid-19 pandemic, climate-related disasters and repeated supply- chain disruptions, Modi said, had demonstrated that in an interconnected world no crisis could remain confined to a single region. This, he argued, made resilience not merely an economic objective but a central requirement for global stability. “Challenges must be identified in time, we must be prepared for them and it is equally necessary to act immediately,” he said. Under the resilience pillar, BRICS countries have agreed to develop an Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases. India’s BRICS presidency has also advanced Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines for disaster management and a BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework intended to make supply networks more reliable and capable of withstanding future shocks. His address thus sought to position the 18th BRICS Summit not simply as another meeting of emerging economies, but as a test of whether a more diverse global grouping can convert its collective economic and political weight into practical solutions for crises that increasingly transcend national borders. For India, the four pillars of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability provide the framework for that effort, with the wider objective of ensuring that the benefits of BRICS-led initiatives extend beyond the grouping itself to the broader Global South. Rybakina stuns Sabalenka, wins US Open title Page 12 Modi holds key bilateral talks on BRICS sidelines STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 13 September Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday stepped up India’s diplomatic outreach on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, holding a series of bilateral meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Indonesia as India sought to deepen strategic partnerships across Asia, Africa and the wider Global South. At Bharat Mandapam, Modi held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr, besides meeting Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. The interactions added a strong bilateral dimension to the BRICS summit, which has brought together leaders of major emerging economies at a time of significant geopolitical and economic realignment. Modi also met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, reinforcing India’s engagement with Central Asia. Kazakhstan is an important partner for New Delhi in the region, with the two countries maintaining close p olitical ties and cooperation in areas including energy, connectivity, pharmaceuticals, information technology and defence. Mo di’s meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr further underlined India’s expanding engagement with Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific. The Philippines has become an increasingly important partner for India amid the changing strategic landscape in the Indo-Pacific, with cooperation extending to defence, maritime security, trade, technology and capacity building. Among the most warmly described meetings was Modi’s interaction with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Recalling the conversation, Modi said it was “lovely catching up” with the Indonesian leader and praised his “warmth, positivity and spirit of optimism”. The series of meetings illustrated the diplomatic momentum surrounding the New Delhi BRICS Summit, where India has sought to use its chairship and the grouping’s expanding membership to reinforce its engagement with the Global South. For New Delhi, the summit has therefore served a dual purpose: advancing the collective BRICS agenda while creating space for intensive bilateral diplomacy with leaders from Asia, Africa and other parts of the developing world. Against a backdrop of conflicts, economic uncertainty and shifting global power equations, the bilateral conversations on the sidelines of the summit offered New Delhi an opportunity to reinforce relationships with a geographically diverse group of partners while advancing India’s larger vision of a more representative and multipolar international order. ‘UCC will be implemented in 21 Xi Jinping’s five-point plan for more powerful BRICS NDA-ruled states before 2029’ ARTI BALI New Delhi, 13 September STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Mumbai, 13 September Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would be implemented in all 21 states currently governed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) before 2029. Addressing a press conference in the city after attending several public programmes, HM Shah spoke on governance, national security, illegal immigration and disputes over regional languages. Expressing confidence that the UCC would be rolled out before the 2029 general elections, he said, “We have already introduced the Uniform Civil Code in several states. I am confident that before 2029, we will implement the UCC across all 21 states governed by the BJP-led NDA.” On national security, the Home Minister said counter-terrorism measures, including surgical strikes, airstrikes and Operation Sindoor, had established a policy of “zero tolerance” towards cross-border terrorism. Comparing the present government with the period before 2014, HM Shah said India had moved beyond corruption, casteism and dynastic politics towards “performance-based politics” under the BJP’s leadership. “India’s foreign and defence policies now stand on a robust foundation. The principle of ‘India First’ guides the government’s strategic vision, ensuring that national interest remains paramount,” he added. On illegal immigration, HM Shah reiterated the government’s resolve to identify and deport all unauthorised foreign nationals. He said the specific operational methods being considered for the identification process would remain undisclosed. “The government remains firm in its commitment to identify and deport every illegal infiltrator from the country. We will systematically identify each illegal occupant and ensure their removal,” he said. On recent friction over regional linguistic identities, HM Shah said priority should be given to one’s mother tongue, while local state leadership would resolve the issue. He also accused political adversaries of attempting to create divisions in society over the matter. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a positive message to India and other BRICS nations by declaring that his country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will be an instrument for deeper global engagement, focusing on high- quality domestic development while creating new opportunities for cooperation with countries around the world, particularly the Global South. Addressing the BRICS Summit here on its second day, Xi said China would use the plan to expand high-standard opening-up, implement the Global Development Initiative and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. His remarks placed the new five-year blueprint at the centre of Beijing’s broader economic and diplomatic strategy as China seeks to sustain growth, strengthen technological capabilities and retain its position as a major engine of the global economy. “This year marks the launch of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan,” Xi said, signalling that Beijing sees the beginning of the new planning cycle as an opportunity not only to reshape its domestic economy but also to deepen international partnerships. Approved during China’s 2026 Two Sessions, the plan sets the country’s development priorities through 2030 and forms part of Beijing’s longer-term ambitions of achieving basic modernisation by 2035 and national rejuvenation by 2049. At its core, the blueprint seeks to move China further away from an economic model dependent on investment and low-cost manufacturing toward one driven by technological innovation, advanced industry, domestic consumption and higher productivity. Artificial intelligence occupies a particularly prominent place, with the plan calling for an “AI+” drive to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence across manufacturing, services and other sectors. Beijing also intends to strengthen its capabilities in quantum computing, robotics, biomedicine, advanced materials, hydrogen, nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces and 6G. Strategic industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy and high-end equipment are expected to remain important drivers of future growth. The technological push comes against a challenging domestic and international backdrop. Yet Xi made it clear that greater self-reliance should not be confused with isolation. His emphasis on “high-standard opening-up” indicated that China intends to remain deeply integrated with international trade, investment and technology networks. The plan envisages continued cooperation in infrastructure, industrial development, emerging technologies and global supply chains. For BRICS members and the wider Global South, this could translate into larger opportunities for access to the Chinese market, increased Chinese investment overseas and wider cooperation in artificial intelligence, green energy, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure. Xi said China was prepared to work with fellow BRICS members to promote AI-driven new industrialisation and deepen cooperation across industrial and supply chains. Two big takeaways for India: Joint declaration and successful Modi-Xi meeting ASHOK TUTEJA New Delhi, 13 September Indian diplomats achieved what appeared to be an impossible task. They succeeded in building consensus around the formulation on the West Asia conflict in the “New Delhi Declaration” issued by BRICS leaders despite Iran and the UAE—which are on opposing sides of the ongoing regional conflict—both being members of the 11-nation grouping. Also significant is the fact that this consensus was achieved on Day 1 of the summit as Indian diplomats worked until late hours with counterparts from key member nations to produce a “unanimous” declaration. This is indeed a feather in India's cap, especially for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who hosted the summit. The 45-page elaborate declaration was released even as New Delhi became the venue for a rare meeting between visiting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan amid the West Asia crisis. Indian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that it took them hours to prevail upon both Iran and the UAE to agree on the West Asia formulation in the declaration. The 140-point declaration expressed deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in West Asia and called for maximum restraint and avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation. Keeping in mind the sensitivities of both Iran and the UAE, the declaration did not name any country as responsible for the West Asia situation. “We had to do a balancing act…otherwise it would not have been possible to reach a consensus,” an Indian official said, recalling how they were unable to release a joint statement after the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi in May due to deep divisions among member states, especially Iran and the UAE. Another big takeaway from the BRICS meet was the bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday. The two leaders have now met for a third consecutive year, after Kazan in 2024 and Tianjin in 2025, signaling steadily stabilising ties between the two nations. If Kazan was the turning point and Tianjin helped put the relationship back on track, the New Delhi meeting is seen as another major step toward confidence-building to move forward on the long-running border dispute and trade. The 50-minute meeting allowed the two leaders to frankly present their views on the relationship. Modi reiterated that the differences between the two countries must not turn into disputes while Xi said China has always viewed and developed its relations with India from a strategic height and with a long-term perspective. Chinese official news agency Xinhua quoted President Xi as telling Modi that China and India are partners for cooperation, not rivals. The two countries provide development opportunities for each other rather than posing threats, he added. But India can ill-afford to blindly trust China due to its patterns of aggression, expansionism and disregard for bilateral agreements. Beijing openly sided with Pakistan during “Operation Sindoor” in May last year and continues to relentlessly pursue its “String of Pearls” policy, building ports, military installations and other key infrastructure projects in India’s neighbourhood. However, China's rising global influence makes it impossible for India or any other nation to ignore its central role in world affairs. Another important bilateral meeting PM Modi had on the margins of the summit was with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders have held talks on so many occasions in the last 12 years that their meeting now looks like a routine affair. The chemistry between them is characterised by a strong, long-standing personal rapport and mutual strategic trust. PM Modi is one of the few world leaders who can speak plainly with President Putin, especially on the Ukraine conflict. He once again did that, appealing to President Putin to end hostilities in Ukraine and give dialogue and diplomacy a chance to resolve the crisis in the region. PM Modi and President Putin are scheduled to hold their annual summit later this year in Russia which is expected to further solidify the relationship between their two countries.