Decoding the vocabulary of statecraft.
CONVERGENCE
BRICS • NEW DELHI • 2026
Why This Word?
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration refers to “convergence” in relation to customs cooperation and identifies “areas of convergence” on reform of the development-finance architecture.
The Question
What does convergence mean in diplomacy, and how far can it take cooperation among countries whose wider interests do not always align?
| Practitioner’s View Ausaf Sayeed is a former Secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and High Commissioner to Seychelles, with diplomatic experience across West Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States. | Scholar’s View Muqtedar Khan is Professor of International Relations at the University of Delaware and a Senior Non-Resident Fellow of the Middle East Policy Council. He hosts a YouTube show on World Affairs called Khanversations. |
| In diplomacy, convergence denotes the point at which separate national positions meet on a specific question, allowing agreed language and joint action. It is narrower than alignment: states can agree on issues while retaining different worldviews. In the New Delhi Declaration, members divided over West Asia and Ukraine found common ground on customs cooperation and reform of international financial institutions. Such convergence can enable practical cooperation and strengthen collective negotiating leverage, but cannot substitute for strategic trust. Its reach depends on whether members see sustained national advantage in translating shared objectives into concrete commitments. | In an increasingly fractious world, convergence has two related meanings. In academia, it describes how states with different political systems develop similar policies, goals, or strategies over time because they face common external pressures or domestic challenges. India and Pakistan, for example, may pursue comparable approaches to development despite their differences. In diplomacy, convergence means finding common ground despite divergent interests or ideologies. It also allows states to manage profound differences of interest without resolving them. BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization bring together states with disagreements, yet their members can cooperate on specific issues, such as enhancing connectivity and promoting stability. |
