Nava Thakuria
The 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’ on 12-13 September 2026 witnessed the participating leaders discuss global conflicts, trade, AI, food security and cooperation among developing countries, where they unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026. The declaration, while reaffirming commitment to stronger multilateralism and deeper cooperation among BRICS countries, emphasized on avoiding the forum to stand against anyone, but with an approach to take everyone along.
The summit, virtually presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim, UAE crown prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, etc also expressed concern over growing tensions in West Asia and called for dialogue, diplomacy and conflict prevention so that the civilian casualties can be reduced.
One of the major outcomes included a consensus on comprehensive reforms in the United Nations precisely the UN Security Council with an aim to make the institution more democratic, representative, effective and efficient. Increasing the representation of developing countries in the UNSC membership so that it can adequately respond to prevailing global challenges and support the legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, was also insisted.In the presence of UNSC permanent members (China and Russia), the BRICS also agreed that both Brazil and India should play a greater role in the UN including its Security Council.
Ahead of the two-day summit, Modi met with UN secretary-general António Guterres in New Delhi, where both the leaders discussed various issues covering global conflicts, sustainable development, human-centric technology, renewable energy, food security, etc. Guterres congratulated India for the BRICS chairship and admitted that the UNSC needs multilateral reform to reflect the contemporary realities on Earth. To mark two decades of the BRICS, two commemorative postage stamps were also released by the member country leaders.
The declaration expressed strong condemnation of any act of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed. The brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam of Jammu & Kashmir on 22 April 2025 (where 26 people were killed and many injured) also got space in the declaration. The leaders agreed that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group, and all those involved in terrorist activities must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with relevant national and international laws.
The leaders reaffirmed support for Palestine’s full membership of the UN citing a two-state solution where sovereign Palestinian can have East Jerusalem as its capital. They opposed forced displacement of Palestinians and condemned violations of international humanitarian law, including attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Highlighting on universal health coverage, tuberculosis research, pandemic preparedness and early-warning systems, the participants endorsed initiatives on healthy lifestyles and mental wellbeing. On technology, they highlighted artificial intelligence (AI), digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity and cooperation on research and innovation. Describing AI as a significant potential tool for economic growth and sustainable development, the leaders stressed on safety, security, inclusiveness and reliability. Climate change also featured prominently, where they called for a stronger international action on climate finance, adaptation and sustainable development.
Expressing concern over the situation with illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse worldwide, the leaders identified it as a serious threat to public security, health safety and well-being of humankind that undermines the sustainable development of different countries. They also welcomed the Guwahati declaration issued by the BRICS heads of anti-drug agencies that facilitates operational and technical cooperation among those responsible agencies. The declaration also covered transport, tourism, anti-corruption efforts, digital connectivity and many other areas of BRICS cooperation.
The declaration also extended full support to Beijing for the 2027 BRICS chairship and 19th summit in China. Bangladesh, neither it’s a member nor partner country, was invited to the BRICS summit as the current chair of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), but Dhaka preferred to reject the opportunity of presenting the poverty stricken county in the Global South forum that represents 50% of the world population, 40% of global GDP and over 30% of international trade. On the contrary, the current chair of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Nepal was not invited for the summit, but unlike Dhaka’s outburst, Kathmandu remains silent.
