THE 18^th BRICS SUMMIT 2026 HELD IN INDIA

The 18th BRICS Summit was held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, under the chairmanship of Narendra Modi. This marks the fourth time India has held the BRICS presidency. This year, the BRICS group completed 20 years since its inception. Representatives from 21 countries—comprising 11 full member nations and 10 partner nations—participated in the conference. Additionally, representatives from the World Health Organization, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, United Nations, New Development Bank, and World Trade Organization took part in the event. 

The main objective of the summit

This summit is significant for global politics and India in many respects. It brings together major global powers on a single platform. The primary objective of the summit will be to strengthen cooperation within BRICS and address key global and regional issues of mutual importance. The theme chosen for BRICS is—building for resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability. The 'BRICS New Delhi Declaration' was unanimously adopted during the summit, a move hailed as a major diplomatic success for India.

Key outcomes for India include an unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and a resolve to combat it in all its forms. Additionally, a consensus was reached on reforming global governance institutions, strengthening multilateralism, and supporting India's claim for membership in the UNSC.

Modi and Putin's conversation at the BRICS summit

The two leaders greeted each other warmly at Bharat Mandapam. Amidst this high-profile round of strategic and diplomatic talks, PM Modi took a special and heartwarming initiative that has captured everyone's attention. He presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a Hindi translation of the timeless Tamil classic 'Thirukkural', authored by Thiruvalluvar.

The BRICS meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin demonstrated the deep friendship and trust characterizing India-Russia relations. Their bilateral talks in Delhi also showcased excellent personal rapport. Discussions focused on further strengthening trade ties between the two nations, with an emphasis on the implementation of the ‘Economic Cooperation Program 2030’. Additionally, discussions were held on enhancing cooperation in several other sectors, including infrastructure, energy, technology, defense, and culture. Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit. PM Modi has accepted the invitation.

Jinping's visit is significant in many respects.

Jinping's visit to India is expected to bridge the gap that had widened between the two nations. His visit is significant in many respects. Diplomatic relations between India and China are long-standing, and the nature of these ties has evolved over time. Over the past decade, India-China relations have expanded through numerous high-level visits, extending into a wide range of sectors.

The two leaders held talks for approximately 50 minutes. The meeting emphasized improving India-China relations and maintaining peace and stability along the border. Both sides agreed that differences should not be allowed to escalate into disputes.

In 2025, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra for Indian pilgrims resumed via both the Lipulekh and Nathu La routes after a gap of nearly five years. The pilgrimage continued in 2026, with the first batch departing via Nathu La in June 2026. Direct flight services connecting designated points between the two countries resumed in October 2025.

What did PM Modi say?

PM Modi stated that the BRICS declaration focuses on innovation, sustainability, and people-to-people ties, aiming to make cooperation "more practical, development-oriented, and responsive to the aspirations of BRICS nations." The Prime Minister added, "I thank all fellow BRICS nations and their leaders for adopting it."

The conference is founded on resilience-building, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability, employing a human-centric approach as a core pillar to strengthen institutional capacity and support sustainable growth.

Under the resilience pillar, the Chairship seeks to strengthen economic, social, and institutional frameworks, ensuring that member nations are better prepared to tackle global uncertainties, supply-chain disruptions, health crises, and climate risks through robust, adaptable systems designed to foster inclusive growth.

The focus of the innovation pillar is to improve service delivery by leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, and fintech; to foster future-ready economic expansion; and to promote collaborative knowledge sharing and technological cooperation across the bloc.

Through the cooperation pillar, India aims to deepen relations among members by enhancing joint engagement on policy alignment, development finance, trade facilitation, and multilateral governance reforms, while placing practical cooperation and people-centric partnerships at the core of the group's expanding scope.

Additionally, a partner-country framework has been launched involving 10 nations: Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Overall, this major alliance holds immense demographic and economic significance, accounting for approximately 49.5 percent of the global population, 40 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 26 percent of international trade.

Building on this legacy, India’s 2026 presidency aligns agreed reform goals with heightened priorities, placing resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability at the heart of the bloc’s collective agenda.

On the final day of the BRICS summit, all heads of state participated in an open session where they discussed matters of common interest and advocated for an inclusive approach to global growth. Additionally, discussions were held on ways to strengthen cooperation among the member nations.

India has acted as a bridge and established BRICS as a platform for dialogue and constructive cooperation. This is also evident from the outcome documents of meetings involving ministers and heads of agencies. The more the world undergoes turmoil and change, the more apparent the unique significance of BRICS cooperation becomes.

It states that as BRICS undergoes necessary reforms and its capabilities expand, "confidence is growing that there is immense potential in BRICS cooperation and that the future of its member nations is bright." BRICS has now grown to such an extent that it can neither be ignored nor afford to fail.

Response given regarding BRICS

Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow for South Asia affairs at the think tank Atlantic Council, wrote, "The Delhi Declaration contains four strongly worded paragraphs in support of the Palestinian cause. Israel is one of India's key partners. However, considering the stance of the new BRICS members and India itself, as well as the broad acceptance of the Palestinian issue across the Global South, this was a prudent move to maintain consensus within BRICS."

Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor at 'The Hindu', wrote, "Due to the consensus between Iran and the UAE, the paragraph concerning West Asia makes no specific mention of a US-Iran war or Iranian attacks in the region. At the same time, Israel's attacks in Lebanon and Gaza have been strongly criticized."

The Financial Times wrote that China wants to project BRICS as a global power, whereas India views it as a platform for cooperation among developing nations rather than an anti-US bloc.

Regarding the BRICS New Delhi Declaration, Reuters reported that India played a key role in forging consensus among nations with diverse interests, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, and Russia.

According to The New York Times, India wants BRICS to bring together countries with diverse perspectives and interests. In other words, the organization should focus on mutual cooperation and strengthening the voice of developing nations, rather than aligning with any single bloc.