New Delhi: India will host the BRICS leaders summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 as the conflict involving Iran creates one of the biggest tests of unity for the expanded group of emerging economies.
The meeting brings together leaders from countries with very different positions on the conflict in West Asia. Iran is a member of BRICS, while the United Arab Emirates, another member, has taken a sharply different position after Iranian attacks and has suspended trade and financial transactions with Tehran.
The challenge for India, which holds the BRICS chair this year, is to help the group agree on a common position on the conflict without deepening divisions among its members.
The disagreement is particularly important because BRICS works through consensus. The issue has already caused difficulties. BRICS foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi in May failed to issue a joint statement after differences emerged over the situation involving Iran and the UAE.
Negotiators are trying to find language on the West Asia crisis that can be accepted by both Iran and the UAE. The outcome of those efforts remains uncertain ahead of the leaders summit.
The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of continuing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important routes for oil transportation.
The conflict has severely disrupted energy flows through the region and pushed crude oil prices above 100 dollars a barrel. The disruption has also pushed Gulf countries to look for alternative routes for energy exports and trade.
The UAE has been developing alternative routes to reduce its dependence on the Strait as the conflict continues.
The situation gives the BRICS summit an important economic dimension as well as a political one.
India is also promoting greater financial cooperation among BRICS countries. One proposal under discussion involves linking central bank digital currencies to make cross border payments easier. However, political differences and technical difficulties could limit progress.
BRICS now has 11 countries, according to the Indian government, including Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia's status in the grouping remains uncertain because Riyadh has not formally confirmed its accession and has continued to participate through lower level representation.
The larger membership has expanded BRICS's international reach, but it has also brought more competing interests into the organisation.
The war in Ukraine is another issue that has exposed differences within BRICS. Russia remains a major member, while China has close relations with Moscow. India maintains a long standing relationship with Russia but has also strengthened its relations with the United States and other Western countries.
India has sought to present BRICS as a platform for cooperation among developing countries and greater participation in global decision making.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the summit. His visit will be closely watched because India and China have been trying to improve relations after years of tensions along their disputed Himalayan border.
Xi's visit will be his first visit to India in seven years. Talks between Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could focus on efforts to stabilise relations and improve economic engagement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also due to attend the summit. Modi and Putin are expected to discuss trade and economic cooperation, while their wider relationship includes energy, defence and other areas.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also due to attend the summit. His presence gives Iran an important diplomatic platform at a time when the conflict has placed the country at the centre of international attention.
The UAE delegation will be led by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on behalf of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is also expected to attend. The United Nations has repeatedly called for an end to military escalation, protection of civilians, respect for international law and a return to diplomacy in the region.
The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek has offered some hope that a compromise may be possible. India, China, Russia and Iran were among the countries whose leaders signed a joint declaration on the Iran conflict.
However, the SCO does not include the UAE, making the BRICS negotiations more difficult.
For India, the summit is therefore about more than producing another international declaration.
New Delhi wants BRICS to strengthen economic cooperation and give developing countries a greater voice in global affairs. The summit will also test whether the expanded grouping can maintain cooperation while its members have sharply different interests on major international issues.
A joint declaration would demonstrate that the expanded BRICS group can still find common ground despite serious differences. Failure to reach agreement on major political issues would instead highlight the difficulty of turning a large and diverse grouping into a united geopolitical force.
As leaders gather in New Delhi, the Iran conflict has therefore placed a wider question before BRICS: whether its growing international reach can be matched by the ability of its members to act together when their interests are divided.