Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), announced that the internal trade volume among BRICS countries has reached $1 trillion.

In a statement on his Telegram channel, Dmitriev noted that surpassing this significant milestone confirms the strengthening of economic ties between member states and the bloc’s growing role in shaping the new global economic architecture.

He also emphasized that Russia continues to strengthen trade relations, particularly through the BRICS Business Council, in line with the directives of President Vladimir Putin.

BRICS’ share will continue to grow, Putin says

During a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin recalled that at the beginning of the 21st century, BRICS countries accounted for only one-fifth of the global economy, whereas today this figure has reached 40%.

The Russian leader stated that this share will continue to grow, describing it as a “medical fact.” According to Putin, this growth will primarily be driven by the countries of the Global South.

In April, Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia, also said that the BRICS countries, operating on principles of consensus, have become a key force in the world economy.

BRICS expansion agenda

Initially composed of five countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—BRICS expanded in 2024 with the inclusion of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

In January of this year, Indonesia became the bloc’s tenth full member.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro next week.

According to multiple sources cited by the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, this marks the first time Xi will miss the gathering of leaders from major emerging economies.

Officials familiar with the matter stated that Beijing informed the Brazilian government of a scheduling conflict. Premier Li Qiang is expected to lead the Chinese delegation in Xi’s place, a similar arrangement to the 2023 G20 summit in India.

Chinese officials involved in the preparations suggested Xi’s absence is due to his two meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva within the past year. The first occurred during the G20 summit and a state visit to Brasília last November, while the second took place at the China-CELAC forum in Beijing this May.

Xi has never before missed a BRICS summit. In 2023, he was scheduled to deliver a speech at the meeting in South Africa but, at the last minute, sent Commerce Minister Wang Wentao instead. Beijing provided no official explanation for the change.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi participated in BRICS meetings virtually, with Russia hosting in 2020 and China in 2021.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry told the Post it “would not comment on the internal deliberations of foreign delegations.” The Chinese embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, “information regarding participation in the summit will be shared at the appropriate time.” Guo added that China supports Brazil’s BRICS presidency and aims to “promote deeper cooperation” among member nations. “In a volatile and turbulent world, the BRICS countries are maintaining their strategic resolve and working together for global peace, stability, and development,” he said.

In Brasília, officials have not concealed their disappointment regarding Xi’s absence. A source informed the Post that Lula had traveled to Beijing in May as a “show of goodwill” and had hoped “the Chinese president would reciprocate the gesture by attending the Rio summit.”

There was also speculation that Lula’s invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state dinner after the BRICS summit may have influenced Beijing’s decision, as Xi might have been “perceived as a supporting actor” at the event.

Lula’s special adviser for international relations, Celso Amorim, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, where he clearly expressed Brazil’s desire to host Xi. “I told them, ‘BRICS without China is not BRICS,'” Amorim stated, recalling that then-President Hu Jintao attended the first BRICS summit in Brazil despite a major earthquake in China at the time. “He only stayed for one day, but he came.”

Amorim emphasized the particular importance of Xi’s attendance in the current global context, citing the “US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization” as a “violation of international rules.”

Premier Li is expected to arrive in Brazil next weekend for the summit, which is scheduled for July 6 and 7 in Rio.

German arms manufacturers Rheinmetall and Diehl Defence have signed agreements with India’s Reliance Defence for the production of precision-guided munitions, explosives, and propellants in India. This move is driven not only by a desire to diversify supply chains but also by Berlin’s efforts to encourage New Delhi to reduce its arms cooperation with Moscow.

Germany has recently increased military collaboration with India, including joint naval and air force maneuvers. However, German companies still lag significantly behind their Western rivals in the US and France, who are supplying or planning to supply fighter jets for large-scale arms purchases in India.

The recent military conflict between India and Pakistan has intensified competition in the growing Indian defense market, with India shifting its focus toward advanced high-tech weaponry, including combat aircraft.

Reliance Defence, the partner of Rheinmetall, continues to lead the list of Indian companies securing international defense contracts. The company has faced accusations of receiving preferential treatment from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Diehl and Reliance partner for 155mm precision-guided munitions

On June 10, Diehl Defence and India’s Reliance Defence announced a strategic cooperation agreement for the production of Vulcano 155mm precision-guided munitions in India. These munitions, equipped with GPS technology and laser-guided targeting, are expected to enhance the Indian army’s precision weapon capabilities.

Reports suggest that Reliance Defence anticipates sales of up to $1 billion. This agreement between Diehl and Reliance was announced just days after another strategic partnership was revealed on May 22 between Rheinmetall AG and Reliance Defence. Under this latter agreement, Reliance will take over the production of explosives and propellants for medium and large-caliber ammunition, supplying them to Rheinmetall.

This strategic partnership provides Rheinmetall with access to critical raw materials and ensures the security of its supply chains, with plans for further expansion of the collaboration. The timeframe and total value of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.

South Asia’s largest manufacturing facility to bolster Indian defense production

To support its collaborations with Diehl Defence and Rheinmetall, Reliance will establish its own manufacturing facility at Dhirubhai Ambani Defence City in India’s Maharashtra state. This facility, projected to be one of the largest in South Asia, will produce precision-guided munitions and boast an annual production capacity of 200,000 artillery shells, 10,000 tons of explosives, and 2,000 tons of propellants, which will be supplied to Rheinmetall.

These two contracts increase Reliance’s international defense partnerships to four, following existing collaborations with France’s Dassault Aviation and Thales. The agreements reflect the newly established Reliance Defence’s plans to become a leading company in India’s rapidly expanding defense sector.

Meanwhile, both Diehl and Rheinmetall aim to capitalize on the Indian government’s plan to achieve $5 billion in arms exports by 2029.

Germany’s move to reduce India’s reliance on Russian military imports

The agreements between Rheinmetall, Diehl, and Reliance Defence are part of intensified German efforts, ramped up in 2022, to reduce India’s high dependence on Russian arms imports. In February 2023, during a visit to India, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged New Delhi for greater support in Western efforts to isolate Russia, including an increase in arms purchases from Germany.

In June 2023, then-Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated during his visit to India, “It is not in Germany’s interest for India to remain dependent on Russia’s arms deliveries in the long term.” Pistorius’s discussions resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries for the joint construction of six non-nuclear submarines in India, to be carried out by Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and India’s Mazagon companies.

The “Focus on India” document, adopted by the German government in October 2024, explicitly linked the intention to “more strongly direct India toward German arms companies” with the goal of “reducing India’s arms policy orientation toward Russia.” Simultaneously, both countries have expanded practical military cooperation, including joint air and naval maneuvers in and around the Indian Ocean.

India-Pakistan tensions and the Sino-Western military technology rivalry

The recent military conflict between India and Pakistan, also viewed as a test case for the clash between Western and Chinese military technology, has further intensified competition for India’s large defense market. The armed conflict lasted four days, with both sides employing their most advanced weapons, including modern fighter jets. Reports indicate that the Pakistan Air Force, with the assistance of Chinese-made J-10C fighter jets, managed to shoot down one or more Indian Air Force Rafale fighter jets; both aircraft are classified as 4.5 generation.

Since then, the US has increased its efforts to expand arms sales to India, including the potential sale of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. Shortly before the conflict, India signed a billion-dollar deal with France to acquire 26 Rafale fighter jets to replace its Russian MiG-29K fighter jets.

In response, Russia offered to sell India the Su-57, another fifth-generation fighter jet, and unlike the US, Russia proposed manufacturing the jets in India, including technology transfer. This would enable India to equip the aircraft with indigenous radar and weapon systems. Compared to France and the US, Germany has not recently secured significant arms contracts from India, the world’s largest military equipment importer, apart from the submarine agreement.

Controversial Indian giant: Reliance

Reliance Defence is a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, which is part of the Reliance Group. The Reliance Group is one of India’s leading conglomerates, with total assets of approximately $47 billion and a broad base of about eight million shareholders. The group also includes other affiliated companies such as Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Power, Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited, and Reliance Defence Technologies Private Limited.

However, the group has a controversial history. The Reliance Group is owned by Anil Ambani, who was once listed as the world’s sixth richest person in 2008. By 2019, however, he had accumulated $2 billion in debt to various investors. In 2020, Anil Ambani was forced to declare bankruptcy in a British court after being sued by three Chinese banks for unpaid loans totaling $700 million.

Another significant setback came from Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, which sued one of his companies over unpaid bills. Anil Ambani was saved from a jail sentence in this case only by the intervention of his elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, who paid the debt.

Allegations of Modi’s support for reliance defence

The crisis-ridden Reliance Group reportedly received a lifeline from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the form of an excessively expensive arms deal with French company Dassault Aviation to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets worth a total of $8.8 billion. As part of the contract signed in April 2015, Reliance Group was designated as an offset partner: Dassault was to reinvest a very large portion of the revenues into Reliance to purchase more defense equipment and strengthen indigenous production capabilities.

This was done despite Reliance Group having no prior experience in the defense sector. In fact, Reliance Group established its subsidiary, Reliance Defence Limited, only thirteen days before the deal with Dassault was announced. A few days after the agreement was signed, Reliance Group formed Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited, which would become Dassault’s most important offset partner. The indebted Ambani Group, with no experience in the aviation sector, suddenly became the guarantor of a multi-billion dollar aviation business.