Overview

• BRICS foreign ministers, hosted by S. Jaishankar in New York, warned that indiscriminate tariff hikes and other unilateral barriers risk fragmenting global trade and pledged to defend a WTO‑based system.
• The ministers extended full support for India to lead BRICS in 2026 and to host the XVIII BRICS Summit in India.
• The joint statement renewed the bloc’s call for comprehensive United Nations reform, with Russia and China reiterating support for Brazil and India to play a greater role on the Security Council.
• The ministers condemned the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people and reaffirmed zero tolerance for terrorism, including action against financing, safe havens and cross‑border movement.
• Jaishankar paired the BRICS session with bilateral talks, including with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, as reporting cited recent U.S. tariff actions and presidential threats as examples of coercive measures motivating the trade push.