After weeks of negotiations and disagreements over the war in Iran, BRICS leaders have managed to reach consensus on a joint declaration at the grouping’s summit in New Delhi, allowing India to claim a diplomatic breakthrough after earlier ministerial-level talks failed to produce a common statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration at the conclusion of his remarks on Thursday, saying the document would provide direction to the grouping’s decisions.

“It is clear from today’s discussion that the world is changing and we should not be influenced by the old ways,” said Modi, who was photographed standing between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“In the context of bridge-sharing, your valuable contribution, constructive spirit, and your competence, I would like to thank you all. I would like to announce the end of this session,” Modi added, in his end note.

The agreement came after negotiations continued into the early hours of Thursday, with India attempting to reconcile sharply divergent positions among BRICS members over the wording on the Iran conflict.

The most difficult differences were reportedly between Iran and the UAE, whose positions have diverged during the war that began in February with US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequently widened after Iranian counter-strikes targeted Gulf countries hosting US military facilities.

The issue had assumed particular significance ahead of the New Delhi summit because every previous BRICS leaders’ meeting had concluded with a joint declaration. The failure to secure one at the foreign ministers’ meeting in May had already highlighted the divisions within the expanded grouping, with India being forced to issue a Chair’s Statement instead.

The May meeting had also witnessed sharp exchanges between the Iranian and UAE delegations. Similar difficulties subsequently surfaced at meetings of BRICS trade and communication ministers, as well as at the meeting of deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on the Middle East and North Africa, which too concluded with a Chair’s Statement.

Against this backdrop, considerable attention was drawn to a photograph of Modi holding the hand of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa seen walking alongside them.

Modi, in his remarks, stressed the need for greater participation of the Global South in shaping emerging global systems.

“Representation, responsiveness, and rule-making – all three are necessary. We have emphasised on this that the technology of the future and the construction of their rules should be equal to that of the Global South. The distance between the decisions and their results should be worked with partnership and collective action. Today, the New Delhi Declaration has given a clear direction to all our decisions. Now, it is our responsibility to reflect these decisions with strong results,” Modi announced.

The adoption of the declaration marks a significant departure from the recent ministerial meetings, where differences over the Iran war had repeatedly prevented the bloc from producing a unified text.

For New Delhi, the agreement also offers an opportunity to project its role as a consensus-builder within an increasingly diverse BRICS grouping.