China benefited most from BRICS summit: Sibal

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday described the BRICS as a "motley" collection of nations from which no definitive resolutions can emerge, and claimed that China benefitted the most from the grouping's just-concluded summit in New Delhi.

Sibal, who is a former Union minister, said that for India, as chair, it was like navigating through the Strait of Hormuz to finally come out with a joint statement.

"For us, it was like navigating through Hormuz. China and Russia want to make it an alternative anti-western bloc and RIC (Russia, India, China), is now actually Russia, Iran and China.... We will not want it (to be an anti-Western bloc)," he said at a press conference here.


"But we have got to know, as well as other countries of the world, that the US will not win the war against Iran. That reflected in our resolution as there was talk of Palestine and two-nation theory," Sibal said.

He said the BRICS is a "motley" collection of nations from which no definitive resolutions can easily emerge.

"That is precisely why I noted at the outset that its a notable achievement for our government that a joint resolution was passed without sparking any controversy. I want to say that this cannot be a non-western alliance. China benefitted the most from it," the Independent Rajya Sabha MP said..

Sibal said the New Delhi declaration did not talk of an alternative currency and de-dollarisation, which is an achievement.

He said it was an achievement for India that a joint statement was issued without any controversy.

The former minister, however, said sometimes declarations remain just on print so only time will tell whether the New Delhi declaration will be implemented on the ground.

The annual summit of BRICS, a grouping of 11 major emerging economies representing around 49.5 per cent of the world's population and 40 per cent of global GDP, concluded on Sunday with key outcomes in logistics supply chains, startups and infectious disease control, with its member nations calling for a better global governance and trading architecture to navigate current challenges.