NEW DELHI: A day after senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram questioned whether BRICS had delivered any tangible gains for the country, party MP Shashi Tharoor struck a different note and termed the summit an important platform for the Global South and a demonstration of India’s diplomatic convening power.
Speaking to the media, Tharoor said hosting BRICS was a matter of "great prestige" for India, with a dozen heads of state and government, not only from BRICS member countries but also some observers, attending at the presidential and prime ministerial level.
The former minister of state for external affairs said that, as chair, India had a particular responsibility to showcase the concerns of the Global South, while also bearing in mind India's direct national interests.
However, on Thursday, Chidambaram said he was apprehensive about any significant results from the last two or three BRICS summits. Pointing out that India was also a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G20 and Quad, he questioned the economic and national security benefits the country had achieved through these groupings.
“I don't know how many Presidents and how many Prime Ministers are coming. I don't think the last two or three BRICS summits have resulted in tangible benefits or tangible results,” said Chidambaram.
“In fact, we are part of BRICS, we are part of SCO, we are part of G20, and we are part of QUAD. What benefits are we getting out of that? I can't see. In the last two or three summits, I didn't see any benefits. Earlier, the BRICS Summits resulted in some tangible benefits,” he added.
In contrast to Chidambaram’s view, Tharoor said that through the BRICS Summit, India was providing an important platform for the Global South.
"This grouping, the 11 BRICS countries, represents a majority of the world's population and 41 per cent of global GDP. It's not a small matter; it's something that has to be taken very seriously by the rest of the world. Secondly, of course, having a dozen heads of state and government, not only members of BRICS but also some observers coming at the presidential and prime ministerial level, this is a matter of great prestige for us," he said.
"It shows a certain diplomatic convening power, which has value in and of itself on the global stage," the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
Tharoor said that with several world leaders in India, there would be significant bilateral conversations.
"Our Prime Minister is bound to be meeting each of the visiting heads of state and government who seek a meeting. And that may mean a dozen important meetings with these country leaders.
"And for us, of course, both the meeting with President Xi and the meeting with President Putin are going to grab world headlines," he said, adding that there would be other key meetings.
