EAM Jaishankar to represent India at BRICS virtual summit today; Trump tariffs on agenda

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (File photo)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the BRICS leaders' summit on Monday. Convened by Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the summit will discuss the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump and the trade disruptions triggered by US policies.

Brazil is the current chair of the BRICS.

"The Brazilian chair of BRICS has called for a virtual meeting on September 8. From our side, it will be the External Affairs Minister who will be participating in (the meeting). This Brics Summit is at the leaders' level," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday.

People familiar with the matter said New Delhi decided to nominate Jaishankar to attend the summit as part of a 'balancing act' with Washington getting increasingly suspicious about the agenda of BRICS.

According to two Brazilian government officials, Lula wants to discuss not only the trade tariffs but also to rally fellow heads of major emerging market nations in support of multilateralism, Bloomberg reported.

Both India and Brazil have been slapped with 50 percent tariffs by US. The aim of the summit is to create a common approach in dealing with the Trump administration's tariff tussle.

Trump had previously threatened to impose additional tariffs on BRICS nations for their efforts to reduce reliance on the dollar by expanding trade in local currencies.

The Brazilian President had dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August during which both the leaders pledged to strengthen bilateral trade and energy ties.

The BRICS summit will follow a crucial meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week during the SCO Summit in Tianjin.

BRICS originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa but in 2024 the grouping expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and UAE. The latest to join BRICS is Indonesia.