“Concordia res parvae crescunt, discordia maximae dilabuntur,” said Sallust, the renowned Latin historian and one of the political partisans of Julius Caesar. What was achieved in New Delhi on an overcast September afternoon manifests the quote appropriately: Through harmony, small things grow; through discord, the greatest fall. The BRICS declaration adopted on September 12 by the member nations, often seen as a motley group without common goals, has hushed critics for the time being. Despite internal differences, BRICS+ nations have
“Concordia res parvae crescunt, discordia maximae dilabuntur,” said Sallust, the renowned Latin historian and one of the political partisans of Julius Caesar. What was achieved in New Delhi on an overcast September afternoon manifests the quote appropriately: Through harmony, small things grow; through discord, the greatest fall. The BRICS declaration adopted on September 12 by the member nations, often seen as a motley group without common goals, has hushed critics for the time being. Despite internal differences, BRICS+ nations have reached consensus on various substantive issues, expressing an earnest wish to upend the status quo. By jointly condemning acts of terror, unilateral tax and tariff decisions and ongoing military conflicts; advocating for ease of trade relations among member States; and, most importantly, unequivocally supporting the rights of Palestinians, BRICS has shown that it has, indeed, understood that differences can be set aside to rally behind common causes. The bilateral meeting between the UAE and Iran, despite the two exchanging fire across borders, should be seen as an unexpected bonus.
All eyes were on China’s President Xi Jinping as he visited India after seven years, the first time since the Ladakh standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies. In both his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his address, Xi belied the perception in some quarters that China merely sees the grouping as a platform for challenging American hegemony. Whether BRICS will be successful in leveraging this growing concord to achieve conflict resolution through dialogue within the grouping, and advocate for the same globally, remains to be seen. For now, let this grouping have its cake and eat it, too: Stay diverse yet united.
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