The BRICS summit in New Delhi pushed towards expanding economic cooperation, with China introducing new initiatives in artificial intelligence, trade and supply chains, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for transforming the group’s agreements into practical steps, at a time when the group’s leaders succeeded, despite their differing positions, in issuing a common position on escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The group's summit in New Delhi, which concluded its work on Sunday, showed the expansion of the BRICS economic agenda to include trade, investment, artificial intelligence, supply chains, digital infrastructure, energy and food security, in addition to pushing towards greater use of local currencies and the development of cross-border payment systems.
This trend comes as the group’s membership expands to include, in addition to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, countries including Iran, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE, as well as a group of partner countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
India, which chaired the group this year, says that the BRICS countries represent about 50 percent of the world’s population, 40 percent of the global gross domestic product, and more than 25 percent of global trade, which gives them great economic weight in the debate about the future of the global order.
From “BRICS” to “Extended BRICS”
During the summit, China pushed to transform this economic weight into more practical cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward initiatives in the fields of artificial intelligence, trade, services and special economic zones, calling on the “Extended BRICS” countries to maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains and build a more integrated market.
Xi announced that China will lead the establishment of an open area for artificial intelligence within BRICS with the aim of enhancing cooperation in large language models, training artificial intelligence systems, and developing an open system for this technology.
He also proposed establishing a partnership for special economic zones between the group's countries, and announced that next year China will host a BRICS forum on trade in services, in a move aimed at enhancing trade and investment among member economies.
This reflects an important shift in the nature of the group’s agenda. Instead of focusing solely on reforming international institutions dominated by Western economies, BRICS is seeking to build tools and cooperation platforms that can give its members greater ability to deal with the global economy.
Xi said that the success of the enlarged BRICS initiative depends on laying a solid foundation for practical cooperation, while calling for maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains and enhancing market integration.
Modi: From files to reality
On the other hand, Modi focused in his closing speech on the necessity of translating the agreements reached during the summit into tangible results, calling on the group’s leaders to transform them from “files” into time-bound practical steps. He said that the discussions that took place during the two days strengthened his conviction that BRICS is not just a group of countries, but rather a “system of solutions,” calling for the solutions developed by the group to be applicable and benefited from on a broader scale in the countries of the “Global South.”
Modi stressed that the strength of BRICS lies in its “diversity and cooperation,” calling for strengthening cooperation in order to achieve more comprehensive global growth.
Trade and supply chains
Trade and supply chains formed a major focus of the summit’s agenda, at a time when the global economy is facing a rise in trade barriers and disruptions in the movement of goods and investments.
Xi called on the "enlarged BRICS" countries to maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains and enhance market integration, while the joint statement affirmed the group's support for an open, fair, transparent, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its center.
The group's countries also opposed unilateral sanctions and coercive economic measures issued by the United Nations, and criticized the increase in customs duties and non-tariff barriers, claiming that they harm global trade and supply chains.
The group also supported increasing the use of local currencies in trade, strengthening cross-border payments systems, as well as cooperation on food security, energy, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and climate action.
This agenda comes at a time when emerging economies seek to reduce their exposure to shocks resulting from trade and geopolitical tensions, and enhance their ability to access markets, finance and technology.
Artificial intelligence enters the BRICS agenda
Artificial intelligence stands out as one of the new areas in which BRICS is trying to build practical cooperation. The Chinese initiative seeks to enhance cooperation in artificial intelligence models and training, in addition to developing an open system that allows member states to benefit from technical developments.
This comes at a time when access to advanced chips, data centers, and the energy needed to operate artificial intelligence systems has become part of the economic and strategic competition between major powers.
Cooperation between the BRICS economies in this field would open up space for the exchange of experiences, investments, and development of digital infrastructure, but it also faces great disparity between member states in technical and financial capabilities.
Local currencies and payments
The economic agenda was not limited to traditional trade, as the group’s countries supported increasing the use of local currencies in trade and strengthening cross-border payment systems.
This comes within the framework of a broader effort to reduce trade costs and enhance the ability of emerging economies to conduct their transactions away from complete dependence on the traditional financial structure dominated by Western currencies and institutions.
But these endeavors do not necessarily mean creating a complete alternative to the global financial system in the near term, as much as they reflect an attempt to build additional options for the countries of the group and enhance their ability to manage trade and finance in a more divided international environment.
The Syrian Ministry of Energy said, on Sunday, that the rise in the prices of petroleum derivatives in the country came as a result of the exceptional increase in the cost of securing products globally, coinciding with the entry of the Baniyas refinery into a comprehensive overhaul for about two months, stressing that the price adjustment is temporary, and aims to ensure continued supplies in the local market.
The ministry added that the rise in the cost of gasoline, diesel, and fuel is not linked to the price of crude oil alone, as refined products markets face pressure due to a decline in supply, disruption of refining capacities, and high costs of transportation, shipping, and insurance.
According to the prices monitored by the Ministry, the price of a ton of diesel is close to $1,400, and gasoline is $1,350, while the price of Brent crude is around $100 per barrel.
Director of the Information Department at the Ministry of Energy, Abdel Hamid Salat, told SANA that adjusting the prices of oil derivatives came as a result of exceptional circumstances and temporary changes in the global energy markets, which imposed a significant increase in the cost of securing derivatives, and prices are not a fixed path or one direction, but are subject to review up and down as the cost and circumstances change.
The Ministry explained that the damage to refining capacities in Russia and the Middle East, in addition to the disruption of supply and navigation routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, led to an increase in the costs of refined products at a pace greater than the rise in crude prices.
Syria's need for oil and its derivatives is about 300,000 barrels per day, compared to a local production of crude of about 100,000 barrels per day, which makes the country dependent on imports to cover part of its needs.
The Syrian market needs about 7.72 million liters of diesel daily, of which 3.09 million liters are locally produced and 4.63 million liters are imported, meaning that about 60 percent of diesel supplies depend on imports.
As for gasoline, the average daily supply is about 2.32 million liters, of which 1.54 million liters are locally produced and about 775 thousand liters are imported, while the average domestic gas supply is about 912 tons per day, with a heavy reliance on imports.
The Ministry explained that producing crude oil locally does not mean the possibility of converting all quantities into gasoline and diesel, as some of the Syrian crude is heavy and not fully compatible with the available refining capabilities and specifications, while limited quantities of unsuitable crude are exported to refineries in parallel with the import of the required products.
Baniyas Refinery, one of the main refining facilities in Syria, has entered into a comprehensive overhaul that is expected to last about two months, reducing local refining capacity and increasing the need to import finished petroleum products.
The Ministry of Energy said that the price adjustment aims to address a temporary gap between the cost of securing derivatives and their selling price locally, to ensure financing of successive shipments and the continued availability of products in the market.
She added that the Syrian Petroleum Company bears responsibility for securing the needs of the market, while its dues from the Syrian Electricity Company during the year 2026 amounted to about 1.7 billion dollars in exchange for gas and energy carriers.
The Ministry confirmed that prices will remain subject to review according to developments in global markets and the return of local refining capabilities after the end of the Baniyas refinery.
She said that reducing Syria's dependence on abroad requires increasing oil and gas production, rehabilitating fields, wells, refineries, transportation lines, and strategic facilities, in addition to enhancing storage, diversifying sources of supply, and attracting investments and partnerships in the energy sector.
