Russia
Source: en.kremlin.ru

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, Prime Minister Modi, colleagues – heads of state, our friends in the audience, and members of our countries’ business community.

As per tradition, this event takes place before the BRICS Summit. Its high-profile attendance underscores growing interest in strengthening contacts throughout the territory of our association.

It is clear that strong economic partnerships and reliable business ties largely shape the basis of international relations, reinforcing their stability and helping us overcome the crisis elements the modern world is facing. The world has entered a period of deep structural shifts caused by the fact that the old leaders – relatively speaking old – who were at the forefront of economic growth in the latter half of the past century, are being replaced with new growth drivers.

Of course, when I say “old,” it is just a figure of speech, but all of us understand what we are talking about. These so-called old leaders still have big and powerful advantages, a developed infrastructure, technological advantages, scientific schools, and so on.

Nevertheless, change invariably happens in the world, in human society and in the economy. The world is changing. This is borne out by objective statistics. Over the past five years, as it has already been said today – I think it was our Indonesian colleague who said it, the BRICS countries accounted for over 40 percent of global GDP, while the contribution of the Group of Seven, the so-called leading economies, although I don’t understand why they are called “leading,” was just 29 percent.

As for global economic growth over the same period, our association accounted for nearly half of it, while the G7 contributed just 18 percent.

What drives these trends? The answer is quite simple: the BRICS countries, which are home to roughly half the world's population, have vast and dynamic domestic markets. Our cities are growing and developing rapidly, urbanisation is advancing quickly, and our national companies are increasingly making their mark as global players.

To illustrate, Tech Mahindra of India delivers effective platform-based digital solutions, including those utilising artificial intelligence. Huawei of China is a world-class leader in technology; Embraer of Brazil maintains a strong position within the aerospace sector; DP World, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, operates efficiently in the field of logistics; and the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia is rightfully recognised as the global leader in peaceful nuclear energy.

There are numerous such corporate success stories across our countries. Behind each one lies diligent, daily effort amid intense competition. I would like to address this issue separately – to speak directly about competition. We have long been told that competition is an inviolable principle; yet, regrettably, Western competitors today are resorting to every conceivable means to reclaim their erstwhile dominance. Such competition, as my colleague from Iran has just observed, is now assuming, at times, most unseemly forms – unseemly even at the state level.

They go so far as to employ instruments of direct physical force, including the destruction of industrial and logistical infrastructure, pipelines, and similar facilities. Efforts are underway to block international transport corridors, to seize sea‑going vessels, while illegal restrictions are imposed, accompanied by threats of so‑called secondary sanctions, on those who refuse to act in the interests of others and instead seek to defend their own national interests.

I know my colleagues could cite hundreds of such examples of this, but consider this: over 30,000 sanctions have been imposed on Russia – nearly twice as many as against all other countries in the world combined. That is the reality the statistics bear out.

Amid exceptionally challenging conditions, Russia has acted with confidence in its own strength, drawing on the capabilities of domestic business, science, technology, education, our engineering schools and above all – our people, the citizens of Russia. In doing so, we have achieved positive results. We have strengthened our national sovereignty and are forging ties with reliable, predictable partners. In just four years, the geography of our foreign trade has undergone a radical shift.
Structural changes have been set in motion within the Russian economy, making it stronger, more resilient and more agile. Consequently, over the past three years, Russia’s economic growth rates have outpaced the global average; between 2023 and 2025, GDP grew by 10.3 percent, while unemployment fell to a record low – the lowest level ever recorded in our history – of 2.3 percent.
We have greenlighted large-scale technological innovation, including the roll-out of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, digital platforms and modern financial instruments. Crucially, these innovations rest primarily on our own Russian solutions, as well as developments from our BRICS partners. All of this proves once again that, even under severe external constraints, ambitious goals can be set and achieved.

We must also acknowledge another fact: the countries that initiated this sanctions pressure, and which are now grappling with serious problems such as budget deficits, mounting public debt and industrial decline, have been unable to do the same. It turns out that they are the ones facing complex and severe consequences. This is are not mere speculation; these are facts drawn from their own statistics.

I mentioned budget deficits, rising public debt and industrial decline – these are all undeniable realities. In the eurozone, specifically in its leading economies, and I shall not give names, industrial output has fallen by 8 percent over the past few years; for them, that is a significant decline.
Our shared goal is to unlock the BRICS potential for the benefit of our countries and peoples, and to strengthen mechanisms for practical business cooperation – what is known as “business diplomacy” – so that companies, entrepreneurs can more easily find partners, settle payments, transport goods and invest within our nations.

At the same time, we have no desire to limit ourselves or turn inward – whether at national, corporate or broader partnership level. We are not building our work in opposition to anyone; we stand for ourselves and our own interests, yet we are ready to cooperate with all our partners – be they “old” leaders or otherwise – and indeed with the entire world; we are open to working with the global community.

I am confident that our Business Forum will become the mechanism that will give additional momentum to the development of our trade and economic ties, help implement numerous ideas and projects, including in infrastructure, logistics, finance, technological cooperation and other fields.
A National Committee for Business Cooperation within BRICS has been established in Russia to stimulate this work. It comprises over 40 representatives of the leading Russian companies. Its task is to configure a substantive programme of interaction with our foreign partners.

As I said, Russia is open to interesting and promising initiatives in industry, trade and tourism. We are ready to contribute to the world’s energy and food security together with our partners, and to jointly shape reliable global routes, such as the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor and the North-South International Corridor. Of course, we also intend to deepen our cooperation in training personnel and implementing applied research projects across many spheres, in particular, in smart technologies and driverless transport.

I would like to add that the development of business ties implies the use of effective financial mechanisms. The New Development Bank is working on this. Russia has proposed using it as the basis for creating a new investment platform, which will help us attract additional private funds to infrastructure, technology and other fields that underlie the competitiveness of our states. We hope that this initiative will be supported by members of our association.

Friends,

Through the combined efforts of the bodies of power, businesses and expert community, BRICS is creating a new stable platform of global growth. It is notable that its key elements, the operating rules for companies and organisations are not imposed from the outside by the so-called golden billion. Likewise, we do not impose anything on others.

Our rules are based on innovative business approaches, breakthrough technological solutions, highlighting the national interests of our states and nations. It is true that this is hard and painstaking work, but the BRICS countries have shown that they can work hard and honestly, cooperate on an e qual basis, see the big picture and mutually beneficial prospects, and find answers to any challenges, which means that our initiatives will succeed.

I wish you all the best. Thank you.

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Excellencies
Leaders of the BRICS business community,
Innovators and friends,

Namaskar!

A warm welcome to all of you to the BRICS Business Forum.
This year, we are celebrating twenty years of BRICS. When the group was launched in 2006, it comprised only four countries. Today, including BRICS and its partners, we have a family of twenty-one countries.

Today, the BRICS countries represent 50% of the world’s population, 40% of global GDP, and more than 25% of global trade. Not only that, over these years, while global GDP has grown by around 2.5 times, the combined GDP of BRICS countries has grown by around 4.5 times. In other words, the economic strength of BRICS has grown at nearly twice the pace of the world economy.

BRICS countries are also emerging as important centres for global innovation and solutions. From grassroots initiatives to frontier technologies, new possibilities for innovation are taking shape across our countries. The growing scale, speed, and optimism of BRICS are clearly visible among us. The Forum being held in India is the largest-ever BRICS Business Forum.

Friends,

The theme of India’s BRICS Presidency is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

Over the past twelve years, India has made this mantra the foundation of its economic and trade policy. When it comes to resilience, India has made its supply chains more diversified and reliable, from energy to technology. It is this very resilience that has enabled India, even amid global uncertainties, to offer the world confidence in growth and stability.

We are rapidly expanding our roads, railways, ports, and airports. At the same time, we are building new capabilities in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, quantum technology, critical minerals, and biotechnology. In these sectors, India is emerging as a hub of new opportunities for global businesses. Therefore, Make in India, Innovate with India, and Scale for the World.
Friends,

Today, India is witnessing a start-up revolution. With more than 200,000 start-ups and over 120 unicorns, India is emerging as a hub for global solutions. You will get a glimpse of this at the BRICS Bharat Innovates Expo.

Our start-ups are transforming education and healthcare through AI, working on Green Hydrogen and Batteries, and breaking new frontiers in defence and space. Now, through BRICS as well, we must take these world-class innovations to global markets.

Friends,

Another distinctive feature of India’s innovation story is Innovation at Population Scale. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has given new momentum to financial inclusion and digital transactions at population scale.

Today, 50% of the world’s real-time payments are powered by this technology. To build new solutions on this digital layer, we have provided industry and start-ups with an open ecosystem. We are proud that many countries are adopting India’s world-class ecosystem. Innovators from BRICS countries can also draw on this experience to develop new solutions for their own countries.

Friends,

Today, as trade barriers are increasing around the world, India is building economic bridges. Since 2014, we have entered into Free Trade Agreements with nearly 40 countries around the world. Our approach within BRICS is also the same, reduce barriers and expand opportunities for businesses.

Therefore, under our Presidency, we have established new cooperation networks in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, skills, and smart grids. To connect start-ups and SMEs with markets and finance, we have launched initiatives such as the BRICS Incubator Network, BRICS MSME Portal, and BRICS Startup Innovation Fund.

You can all benefit from these cooperation frameworks and further increase the exchange of investment and talent among our countries.

Friends,

Global trade can move forward only when sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open, and seafarers are safe. That is why India is a staunch advocate of freedom of navigation and the safety of seafarers.

The BRICS Women’s Business Alliance is also an important part of our vision. We want women entrepreneurs to lead our growth story. We are very pleased that nearly 200 women business leaders participated in the meeting of this Alliance held in India.

Friends,

As BRICS enters its third decade, I would urge the BRICS Business Council to consider … can you prepare a report on removing the top 10 trade barriers among BRICS countries? Can we support 100 BRICS startups every year to scale into other BRICS markets? Can we develop 1,000 new partnerships among our businesses? We should review our progress every year against these three benchmarks.

Let us transform BRICS’ ambition into action and our collective strength into global solutions. May BRICS move forward and help the world move forward as well.

Thank you all very much.

New Delhi
September 11, 2026

China
Source: english.www.gov.cn

NEW DELHI, Sept. 13 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday called on BRICS countries to strengthen unity among the Global South and play an active, stabilizing and positive role in global affairs.

In a speech when attending the second day of BRICS summit in New Delhi, Xi also outlined concrete proposals to further strengthen greater BRICS cooperation, with a focus on emerging areas including artificial intelligence, trade, digital industries and manufacturing.

KEY DRIVER OF MULTIPOLARITY

Xi pointed out that when changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world, the Global South, with its collective rise, has become a key driver of world multipolarity.

At the same time, the international landscape is volatile and fraught with risks and challenges, Xi said, adding that to bring stability to the world and make it a better place, BRICS countries must seize the historical initiative, rally the Global South, and advance the well-being of all humanity.

Global South countries should jointly defend the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of international relations including sovereign equality, noninterference in internal affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, Xi said. It should be ensured that international law and international rules are applied to all, and free from double standards, he added.

Global South countries should hold high the banner of multilateralism, uphold the authority and role of the United Nations, and support multilateral institutions in advancing reform and increasing efficiency, Xi said.

He also called for promoting the reform of the World Trade Organization in the right direction, as well as reforming and improving the international financial architecture to increase the representation and voice of developing countries.

Global South countries should stay committed to a people-centered development philosophy and strive to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Xi said.

Global South countries should also jointly advance security governance, tackle both traditional and nontraditional security threats, and improve global climate governance, Xi said, also calling for working faster to evolve a consensus-based global AI governance framework, so that new technologies can light the way toward shared prosperity.

"It is a solidarity that unlocks partnerships, unlocks democratization of the international system, unlocks an open international system, and unlocks an inclusive international system," said Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria.

Rakhim Oshakbayev, director of the TALAP Center for Applied Research in Kazakhstan and former Kazakh vice minister for investment and development, said BRICS cooperation should "bring together developing countries' shared aspirations and promote coordination and cooperation."

BRICS countries should continue seeking common interests, he said, noting that the grouping's expansion had placed greater demands on internal coordination.

GREATER BRICS COOPERATION

During the speech, Xi proposed five initiatives on "greater BRICS" cooperation in areas of AI, trade and investment facilitation, digital industry, intelligent manufacturing, and science and technology talent development.

To accomplish great things and achieve major progress, the foundation of greater BRICS cooperation must be cemented, Xi said, calling for leveraging BRICS' close ties with fellow emerging markets and Global South countries, upholding open cooperation for mutual benefit, safeguarding stable and smooth industrial and supply chains, and fostering a large integrated market.

"We should build incubators for innovation, upgrade traditional industries, develop emerging industries, and deploy future industries," Xi said.

On the open source and inclusive AI initiative, Xi said that China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS AI open source community, support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialized AI seminars and training courses, and build an open ecosystem for AI.

On the trade and investment facilitation initiative, China proposes to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development, Xi said, adding that in an effort to cultivate new drivers of economic and trade cooperation, China will hold the BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year.
On the digital industry cooperation initiative, Xi said that China will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy.

On the intelligent manufacturing cooperation initiative, China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms, and jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading, he said.

On the science and technology talent development initiative, China proposes to set up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards, Xi said, adding that China will launch a BRICS youth exchange program for scientific and technological innovation, so as to cultivate more high-caliber talent.

The five initiatives proposed by Xi focus on key areas including technology, industry, trade and talent, providing concrete pathways to lay a solid foundation for practical cooperation among the broader BRICS community, said Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of the Delovoy Kazakhstan newspaper.

It demonstrates China's firm resolve to share the opportunities of its modernization, a reflection of the spirit of openness, inclusiveness and mutual benefit that underpins BRICS cooperation, he said.

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in


Friends,

As we conclude the 18th BRICS Summit, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your active participation and valuable contributions.

Your insightful views and suggestions have added both breadth and depth to our cooperation. Your presence is a testament to the growing relevance, openness, and inclusiveness of BRICS. Our discussions over the past two days have further strengthened our conviction that BRICS is not merely a group of countries, but an ecosystem of solutions.

We hope that the New Delhi Declaration adopted at this Summit will provide clear direction to our shared vision and future cooperation. We must link all our outcomes with time-bound action and last-mile impact. We will work together to ensure that our frameworks move beyond files and create a real-life impact.

Friends,

BRICS is about to enter its third decade. The world now expects not just ideas and commitments from us, but concrete results. I am confident that, through our collective efforts, we will certainly live up to these expectations.

As the next host of BRICS, I once again extend my very best wishes to China. I specially commend and congratulate all of you and your teams for making the New Delhi Summit a success. I wish you all a pleasant and safe journey.

Thank you very much.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

13 September, 2026

Prime Minister meets the Chairperson of the African Union and President of Republic of Burundi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting today with H.E. Évariste Ndayishimiye, Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of Burundi, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

2.​ The two leaders, while recalling India’s role in bringing the African Union into the G20 fold during India's presidency in 2023, stressed that the India-African Union partnership is a key pillar of cooperation within the Global South. They discussed the early convening of the 4th India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) at a mutually convenient date.

3. ​Prime Minister commended the AU leadership for successfully combating the Ebola Outbreak. The AU Chairperson appreciated the medical support from India to Africa CDC to help in mitigating the outbreak.

4.​ The two leaders discussed India-Burundi ties, which continue to be defined by warmth, solidarity and shared developmental aspirations. The two leaders reviewed bilateral ties in the areas of economic cooperation, development partnership, agricultural modernization, healthcare and capacity-building initiatives.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister meets the Vice President of Uganda on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a warm and productive bilateral meeting today with H.E. Jessica Rose Epel Alupo, Vice President of the Republic of Uganda, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

2. The two leaders reviewed bilateral ties between India and Uganda. They emphasized on the need to enhance cooperation in key priority areas through technology partnerships, capacity building, knowledge sharing, investment facilitation, and private-sector collaboration between the two countries. They also underlined that the development partnership between India and Uganda is a source of strength for both countries. Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s support to Uganda’s ‘Vision 2040’ for a transformed and prosperous Uganda. They also emphasized that close people-to-people ties continue to provide solidity to the partnership.

3. The two leaders called for closer bilateral engagement to champion the voice of the Global South. Prime Minister thanked Vice President for her participation in the Summit.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister meets with the President of South Africa on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 13th September 2026.

2.​ The two leaders reviewed the progress achieved in diverse areas of cooperation and exchanged views on the multi-faceted strategic partnership between India and South Africa. They affirmed that the close and longstanding relations between India and South Africa is rooted in shared historical struggles, strong cultural affinities, robust economic ties, and deep people-to-people connections. The two leaders exchanged views on a range of global issues of mutual interest and agreed to maintain close coordination in multilateral fora. In the context of the successful translocation of cheetahs from South Africa to India, Prime Minister invited South Africa to consider joining the International Big Cat Alliance.

3. ​President Ramaphosa thanked PM Modi for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation as well as for the successful organization of the BRICS Summit.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister meets with the Prime Minister of Malaysia on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia on the sidelines of 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12 September 2026.

2. Prime Minister Modi warmly welcomed Prime Minister Ibrahim to India and appreciated Malaysia’s participation in the BRICS Summit as a Partner Country. The leaders took stock of the outcomes of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Malaysia in February 2026 and reviewed the progress in bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, semiconductors, infrastructure, digital economy, energy, fintech, education, tourism and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim conveyed Malaysia’s concurrence to the establishment of Consulate General of India in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

3. Prime Minister Modi appreciated Malaysia’s continued support in strengthening ASEAN-India relations. The leaders exchanged views on key regional and global issues of mutual interest. They expressed their continued commitment to advancing the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

New Delhi
September 12, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister meets with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, today on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

2. Prime Minister Modi recalled India’s ancient civilizational linkages with Kazakhstan and expressed satisfaction at the steady development of India- Kazakhstan relations in recent years. The two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation in a range of fields, including political, trade, defence and security, connectivity, energy, critical minerals, emerging technologies, creative economy, and people-to-people ties. They also exchanged perspectives on regional and international developments.

3. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, for the mutual benefit of their people, as well as for peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister meets with the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in New Delhi today, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, being held under India’s chairship.

2. The two leaders held discussions aimed at further strengthening the bilateral Strategic Partnership. They reviewed progress across key sectors, including economic cooperation, defence and security partnership, and capacity building. The meeting built on Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to Addis Ababa in December 2025.

3. The two leaders also exchanged perspectives on regional and international developments of mutual interest. They reaffirmed their commitment to close cooperation in multilateral fora.

4. Prime Minister Modi expressed appreciation for Ethiopia’s participation in the 18th BRICS Summit and noted that its presence helped in reinforcing the collective voice of the Global South.
New Delhi
September 12, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Mr. Kashim Shettima Mustapha, GCON, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit held in New Delhi. Vice President Kashim Shettima Mustapha, GCON is heading the Nigerian Delegation to the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The delegation comprises several ministers including, Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Industry, Trade & Investment; Communication Innovation & Digital Technology; Humanitarian Affairs & Poverty Reduction, Women Affairs; and Science and Technology.

2. Both leaders reviewed the multifaceted India-Nigeria relationship and expressed satisfaction at the steady progress across diverse sectors. The discussion focussed on key areas including trade & investment, defence & security, energy partnership, agriculture, health, and digital technologies. They reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the India-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.

3. Prime Minister Modi and Vice President Shettima Mustapha also exchanged views on regional and global matters of mutual interest, including priorities and concerns of the Global South. They emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation in multilateral fora and working together towards a more representative, inclusive and multi-polar international order.

4. Prime Minister Modi highlighted India's continued commitment to strengthening its partnership with Nigeria and to deepening India's engagement with Africa. Vice President Shettima Mustafa appreciated India's development experience and its contribution to capacity building and economic development in Nigeria.

5. The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of India and Nigeria to building a stronger, forward-looking partnership, contributing to peace, prosperity and development in both countries and in the wider Global South.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in


Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China on 12 September 2026, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

2. The two leaders welcomed the steady progress in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long term perspective of their ties. Differences should not become disputes. Prime Minister highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals- mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.

3. Prime Minister emphasized that peace and tranquility in the border areas remains an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations. He underlined the need for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on border related issues. The two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples.

4. The two leaders took note of the progress in people-to-people ties and underscored the need to further promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and greater mobility between the two countries. On economic and trade relations, they underlined the need to address each other’s concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access.

5. The two leaders agreed that both sides must continue to expand common ground on regional and global issues, and in addressing challenges.

6. Prime Minister appreciated China's support for India's BRICS chairship and its contributions towards the success of the BRICS Summit-2026.

New Delhi
September 12, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

12 September, 2026
BRICS New Delhi Declaration: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability (September 12, 2026)
1. We, the Leaders of BRICS countries, met in New Delhi, India, from 12 to 13 September 2026 for the XVIII BRICS Summit held under the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

2. We reaffirm our commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration and consensus. Building on two decades of BRICS, we further commit ourselves to strengthening cooperation in the expanded BRICS under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, cultural and people-to-people cooperation, and to enhancing our strategic partnership for the benefit of our people through the promotion of peace, a more representative, fairer international order, a reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, sustainable development and inclusive growth.

3. We recognise the valuable contribution of Partner countries to BRICS cooperation. We underscore our strong belief that advancing the BRICS partnership with Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) will further contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity and international cooperation for the benefit of all. We reaffirm our commitment to fostering inclusive, mutually beneficial and development-oriented partnership with Partner countries. We encourage their increasing participation in BRICS engagements and practical cooperation in areas of shared interest.

4. We commend India for hosting the Outreach/BRICS Plus Dialogue segment of the 18th BRICS Summit, which injects new impetus to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity.

5. We commend the significant progress achieved under India's BRICS Chairship in 2026, under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", which reflects our shared commitment to strengthening BRICS cooperation in addressing common challenges with a balanced, practical, actionable, inclusive, development-oriented and people-centered approach. We reaffirm our commitment to advancing cooperation on the thematic priorities, particularly through strengthening capacities, promoting innovation, and advancing sustainable development and resilience.

6. We welcome the convening of over four hundred meetings and engagements at the level of Ministers, Parliamentarians, Heads of Agencies, Officials, Experts, Businesses and People in thirty cities across India under the BRICS cooperation framework, which have contributed to strengthening the BRICS strategic partnership. We welcome the progress made in enhancing collective resilience, promoting innovation-driven economic growth, advancing sustainable development, deepening people-to-people exchanges, and amplifying the voice of BRICS for greater representation in global governance.

Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism

7. On the landmark occasion of the 20th anniversary of BRICS, we reiterate our commitment to reforming and improving global governance by promoting a more just, equitable, agile, effective, efficient, responsive, representative, legitimate, democratic and accountable international and multilateral system in the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. Bearing in mind the need to adapt the current architecture of international relations to better reflect the contemporary realities, we reiterate our commitment to strengthening multilateralism and multipolarity and to upholding international law, including the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) in their entirety and interconnectedness in a balanced and inclusive manner, as its indispensable cornerstone, and the central role of the UN in the international system in which sovereign states cooperate to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development, ensure the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, and promote cooperation based on the spirit of solidarity, mutual respect, justice and equality while respecting national circumstances, diversity of national systems and development pathways, with the aim to build a brighter shared future for the international community based on mutually beneficial cooperation.

8. We reiterate our commitment to ensuring greater and more meaningful participation and representation of EMDCs, as well as Least Developed Countries (LDCs), especially from Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, in global decision-making processes and structures and making them better attuned to contemporary realities. We also call for achieving equitable geographical representation in the Secretariat of the UN and other international organizations in a timely manner, particularly by addressing the persistent underrepresentation of developing countries, including at senior and decision-making levels, as well as increasing the role and share of women, especially from EMDCs, at all levels of leadership and responsibilities in these organizations. We stress the need for the selection and appointment process of the UN executive heads and senior positions to be guided by the principles of transparency and inclusiveness, and carried out in accordance with all the provisions of Article 101 of the UN Charter, with due regard for recruiting staff on a geographical basis as wide as possible and the increased participation of women, and adhere to the general rule that there should be no monopoly on senior posts in the UN system by nationals of any State or group of States. We also deplore attempts, including by deliberately withholding assessed contributions, to unilaterally undermine the work of global multilateral institutions and impair the implementation of their respective mandates.

9. In light of the ongoing selection process of the next Secretary-General of the UN and bearing in mind the relevant provisions of the UN Charter, we note that no woman has ever been elected for the role of Secretary General, and only one national from Latin America and Caribbean, and only two nationals from Africa and Asia each have ever occupied this position.

10. We agree that, in the context of the contemporary realities of the multipolar world, it is crucial that developing countries strengthen their efforts to promote dialogue and consultations for more just and equitable global governance and mutually beneficial relations among nations. We acknowledge that multipolarity can expand opportunities for EMDCs to develop their constructive potential and enjoy universally beneficial, inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic globalization and cooperation. We highlight the importance of the Global South as a driver for positive change, especially in the face of significant international challenges, including deepening geopolitical tensions, rapid economic downturns and technological changes, protectionist measures, migratory challenges, and climate change. BRICS countries will continue playing a pivotal role in voicing the concerns and priorities of the Global South, as well as promoting a more just, sustainable, inclusive, representative and stable international order based on international law.

11. We welcome the adoption of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 80/250 on the declaration of the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. We advocate the prompt. and full implementation of UNGA Resolution 79/115 of December 2024 in order to eradicate colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.

12. We reiterate the need to intensify the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as well as discrimination based on religion, faith or belief, and all their contemporary forms around the world, including the alarming trends of rising hate speech, disinformation and misinformation.

13. Recognizing the 2023 Johannesburg-II Leaders' Declaration, we reiterate our support for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council's memberships 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, including BRICS countries, to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the UN, including its Security Council. We recognize the legitimate aspirations of African countries, as reflected in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration. We stress that the UN Security Council reform is to lead to the amplified voice of the Global South. Recalling the 2022 Beijing and 2023 Johannesburg-II Leaders' Declarations, China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, reiterate their support to the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN, including its Security Council.

14. We reiterate our commitment to provide the United Nations with all the required support it needs to discharge its mandate and achieve concrete progress. We should continue the work to revitalize the General Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council. We look forward to the full implementation of the 2025 Review of the Peacebuilding architecture.

15. We reaffirm the commitment to working tirelessly for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its far-reaching and people-centred Goals and targets in a balanced and integrated manner, in line with national policies and regulations, and recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. We further recognise the importance of promoting the 2030 Agenda in an innovative, coordinated, environmentally sound, open and shared manner. We take note of ongoing high-level discussions on global inequality and we recognize that inequality within and among countries is at the root of most challenges addressed by the 2030 Agenda, including by specifically addressing the drivers of inequality and prioritizing its reduction (SDG 10) in all its forms and dimensions. Expressing our resolve to act in a collective manner and take concrete steps to tackle inequality, we take note of the proposal of South Africa and Brazil to establish an international panel on inequality. We also look forward to close cooperation and substantive contribution of BRICS Countries to shaping the global agenda for the sustainable development beyond 2030.

16. We recall 1955 Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia that proclaimed general principles, including equality, independence, non-intervention, and mutual benefit. We stress that the Bandung Spirit serves as a reference in the pursuit of a fairer, more inclusive, and representative multilateral system.

17. With the growing share of EMDEs in global output and growth, reform of global economic governance remains a consistent BRICS priority. We will continue to strengthen coordination among BRICS members to make international financial institutions more representative, transparent and accountable. We reiterate the urgent need to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI) to make them more agile, effective, credible, inclusive, fit for purpose, unbiased, accountable, and representative, to enhance their legitimacy. BWI governance structure should be reformed to reflect the transformation of the global economy since their establishment. The voice and representation of EMDEs in the BWI must reflect their relative position in the global economy. We also reiterate our call for improved management procedures, including through a merit-based, inclusive and transparent selection process that would increase regional diversity and representation of EMDEs in the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank.

18. We reaffirm the BRICS Rio de Janeiro Vision for IMF Quota and Governance Reform and the need for a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at the centre of the global financial safety net to effectively support its members, particularly the most vulnerable countries. We urge entry into effect of the quota increases agreed under the 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ) with no further delay and call for the development of approaches to meaningful quota realignment under the 17th GRQ at the earliest. We welcome the Diriyah Guiding Principles for Quota and Governance Reforms and reiterate that quota realignment should reflect countries’ relative positions in the global economy, increase the quota and voting shares of EMDEs and should not come at the expense of developing countries, while ensuring that a new, simple, and transparent quota formula protects the quota shares of the poorest members and guides but does not constrain access to Fund resources. We also believe that any voluntary financial contributions should not influence quota allocation, governance representation and voting power. In line with the BRICS Rio de Janeiro Vision for IMF Quota and Governance Reform, we stand ready to engage constructively with other IMF members to guarantee that meaningful quota share realignment and governance reforms are included in the 17th GRQ.

19. We reaffirm that the 2025 World Bank Shareholding Review is a critical tool to strengthen multilateralism and enhance the legitimacy of the World Bank Group, as a better, bigger, and more effective development finance institution. In line with the Lima Principles, we reaffirm that BRICS countries should continue to advocate for the increased voice and representation of developing countries, underpinned by a shareholding realignment that corrects their historic underrepresentation.

20. Recalling the 2026 Statement on Preserving and Revitalizing the Multilateral Trading System and 2025 BRICS Declaration on World Trade Organization Reform and Strengthening of the Multilateral Trading System, we reaffirm our unwavering support for reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to strengthening a non-discriminatory, open, equitable, transparent, fair, inclusive, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, while upholding the foundational principles, such as Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment and Special and Differential Treatment for developing members, particularly LDCs. We remain committed to active engagement in multilateral negotiations in Geneva, especially in the debates regarding the reform of the WTO. We will advance efforts and enhance coordination under the BRICS Informal Consultative Framework on the challenges undermining the effectiveness and credibility of the WTO and solutions to these challenges. We will ensure the implementation of the MC14 outcomes and continue to engage constructively towards the resolution of outstanding issues. We will engage constructively in the WTO reform to enhance the WTO’s authority, effectiveness, inclusiveness, and relevance, and build an open world economy. In this regard, we recognise that it is important to identify appropriate pathways for plurilateral initiatives into the WTO legal framework including on development-oriented issues, and to explore the formulation of forward-looking rules in the WTO. We strongly advocate for the immediate restoration of an accessible, effective, fully functioning, two-tier binding WTO dispute settlement mechanism as a foundation for trust and predictability for all WTO members, and the appointment of new Appellate Body members without further delay. We look forward to working towards strengthening the organization through the necessary reform while upholding the foundational principles of the WTO and facilitating the negotiation process within the WTO framework, and to restoring the credibility of the multilateral trading system. Echoing the aspirations of the Global South to fully integrate into the multilateral trading system, we strongly support Ethiopia and Iran’s bid for accession to the WTO. We acknowledge China for expanding its zero-tariff treatment to cover 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties.

21. We note that the multilateral trading system has long been at a crossroads. The proliferation of trade-restrictive actions that are inconsistent with WTO rules, whether in the form of indiscriminate rising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, or protectionism under the guise of environmental objectives, threatens to further reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and trade activities, potentially exacerbating existing economic disparities and negatively affecting prospects for global economic development. We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules. We will work together to enhance the WTO’s responsiveness to trade disruptions and the needs and priorities of emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), as well as advance discussions on outstanding issues, and support balanced, inclusive and concrete outcomes that strengthen the multilateral trading system and enable it to better address evolving global challenges.

22. We condemn the imposition of unilateral coercive measures that are contrary to international law, and reiterate that such measures, inter alia in the form of unilateral economic sanctions and secondary sanctions, have far-reaching negative implications for the human rights, including the rights to development, health and food security, of the general population of targeted states, disproportionally affecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations, deepening the digital divide and exacerbating environmental challenges. We call for the elimination of such unlawful measures, which undermine international law and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter. We reaffirm our opposition to unilateral coercive measures that are contrary to international law and the Charter of the United Nations, including non-UN Security Council authorized sanctions.

International and Regional Peace and Security

23. We note the current global context of polarization and distrust and encourage global action to strengthen international peace and security. We call on the international community to respond to these challenges and associated security threats through politico-diplomatic measures to lower conflict potential and stress the need to engage in conflict prevention efforts, including through addressing their root causes. We underscore that security among all countries is indivisible and reiterate our commitment to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy. We encourage the active role of regional organizations in conflict prevention and resolution and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises. We highlight, in the context of international disputes, the importance of preventive diplomacy and mediation, with the consent of relevant parties, as essential tools to avoid crises and prevent their escalation, in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter. In this regard, we agree to explore avenues for cooperation on the prevention of armed conflicts, UN peacekeeping missions, African Union peace support operations, and mediation and peace processes.

24. We express concern about ongoing conflicts in many parts of the world and the current state of polarization and fragmentation in the international order. We express alarm at the current trend that has seen a critical increase in global military spending, to the detriment of the provision of adequate financing for development to developing countries. We advocate for a multilateral approach that respects diverse national viewpoints and positions on crucial global issues, including sustainable development, the eradication of hunger and poverty and contributing to the global response to climate change, while expressing deep concern over attempts to link security with the climate change agenda.

25. We express concern about the growing risks of nuclear danger and conflict. We reiterate the need for invigorating the system of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation and for preserving its integrity and effectiveness to achieve global stability and international peace and security. We stress the significant contribution of nuclear-weapon-free zones to the strengthening of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, reaffirm our support for and respect towards all existing nuclear-weapons free-zones and their associated assurances against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, and acknowledge the paramount importance of the efforts aiming at accelerating the implementation of the resolutions on the Establishment of a Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East, including the Conference convened pursuant to UN General Assembly Decision 73/546. We call on all invited parties to participate in this conference in good faith and engage with this effort constructively. We note the adoption of the UNGA Resolution 79/241 “Comprehensive study of the question of nuclear-weapon-free zones in all its aspects” as well as the successful conclusion of the study, which was adopted by the Group by consensus.

26. We reiterate our commitment to the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions and to the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. We further reiterate the importance of ensuring the full, equal, safe, and meaningful participation of women in decision-making at all levels of peace and security processes, including conflict prevention and resolution, humanitarian relief, mediation, peace operations, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction and development.

27. Underlining the character of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, built on mutual respect, peaceful settlement of disputes and non-intervention, we express deep concern on the situation relating to Cuba due to the tightening of unilateral blockade measures against the country, their adverse effects on the Cuban economy, energy supplies and the worrying humanitarian impact on the Cuban people. In this regard, we reiterate the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial measures against Cuba in accordance with UNGA Resolution A/RES/80/4.

28. We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West Asia and, recalling our respective national positions, call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation. Furthermore, we urge to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations in their entirety and interconnectedness, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States. We encourage increasing efforts, through dialogue and diplomacy, towards a long-term understanding that will contribute to lasting peace, security and stability in the region. We stress the need to work together to maintain smooth flow of global trade, supply chains and energy, in accordance with applicable international law.

29. We express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the IAEA. Nuclear safeguards, safety, and security must always be upheld, including in armed conflicts, to protect people and the environment from harm.

30. We take note of the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2803. We call for the implementation of the relevant UNGA and UNSC Resolutions and urge all parties to ensure the maintenance of ceasefire and full and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip. In this context, we express deep concern on the continued violence in Gaza despite the ceasefire agreement of October 2025. We call for halting any policies aimed at forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza Strip and express concern regarding arrangements that may prejudice the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and legitimize or prolong occupation.

31. We reaffirm that a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means and depends on the fulfilment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the rights to self-determination and return. We affirm the need for adequate representation of Palestine in all relevant international organizations, including multilateral financial institutions, and access to their resources. We reaffirm our support for the State of Palestine's full membership in the UN in the context of the unwavering commitment to the two-state solution, in accordance with international law, including relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative, that includes the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within the internationally recognized 1967 borders, which included the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in order to achieve the vision of two States living side by side, in peace and security.

32. We express our firm opposition to the forced displacement, temporary or permanent, under any pretext, of any of the Palestinian population from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as any geographic or demographic changes to the territory of the Gaza Strip. We reiterate that international law and international judicial bodies demand the end of the illegal occupation and the immediate cessation of all practices that undermine legal norms and obstruct a just and lasting peace.

33. We reiterate our grave concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We call for adherence to international law, in particular to international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and condemn all their violations, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare, attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects, including healthcare facilities and other civilian infrastructure, as well as the unlawful obstruction of humanitarian access. We also condemn attempts to politicize or militarize humanitarian assistance. We reassert our steadfast support for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and stress the need to fully respect the mandate, bestowed on it by the UNGA, for the provision of basic services to Palestine refugees in its five fields of operations. We call on all relevant parties to respect their obligations under international law and act with utmost restraint and to avoid escalatory actions and provocative declarations. We note, in this regard, the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in the legal proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel, which, inter alia, reaffirmed Israel’s legal obligation to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

34. We reject any unilateral measures that seek to alter the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem. We urge full respect for the sanctity of all religious sites and holy places in the city and for the rights of all to access and to observe their religious rites without hinderance.

35. We welcome the ceasefire in Lebanon and call on all parties to strictly adhere to its terms and to fully implement UNSC Resolution 1701. We condemn the continued violations of the ceasefire and of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon. We call on Israel to respect the terms agreed with the Lebanese government and to withdraw its occupying forces from all of the Lebanese territories, in which they remain.

36. We highlight the vital role played by United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and agree it is imperative to ensure the safety, security, and freedom of movement of all UN personnel and equipment, as well as to respect the integrity of UN premises. We condemn all attacks against UNIFIL installations and personnel and emphasize that such attacks are a violation of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006). We also extend our deepest condolences for the loss of four Indonesian as well as other peacekeepers serving under UNIFIL and express solidarity with all Troop Contributing Countries affected. We express our condemnation of the incidents that led to these fatalities and reiterate that the safety and security of UN peacekeepers are non-negotiable. We underscore the importance of respecting the role and mandate of UNIFIL in supporting the Government of Lebanon and in creating space for a political solution. In this regard, we call for those responsible for these attacks to be held accountable, and further call on all parties to guarantee the safety and freedom of movement of UNIFIL personnel and assets, as well as the inviolability of UN premises.

37. We express grave concern over the deteriorating situation in Sudan, including the worsening humanitarian crisis and the growing risk of proliferation of extremism and terrorism. We reiterate our positions in this regard and call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue. We also stress the need for sustained, urgent and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance for the Sudanese population, and for the scaling up of humanitarian aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries. We reiterate the principle of "African solution to African problems" should continue to serve as the basis for conflict resolution and call for a coordinated approach among peace efforts.

38. We reaffirm our commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and call on all parties to ensure a peaceful and inclusive political transition, in a manner that ensures the security and well-being of the civilian population and upholding the rights of all components of Syrian society, including minorities. We encourage the international community to support the post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation of Syria. We stress our continued support for the efforts for an inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN facilitated political process, free from foreign interference, based on the principles of UNSC Resolution 2254 (2015), where all political and social components of Syria's society are represented and protected. We highlight the urgency of addressing the issue of foreign terrorist fighters given the serious risk they pose to Syria's and regional stability and security. We urge Syria to firmly oppose all forms of terrorism and extremism and take concrete actions to respond to concerns of the international community about terrorism. We further reaffirm the necessity of the withdrawal of occupying forces from Syria.

39. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation to address humanitarian crises worldwide and express concern at the dwindling of international responses, including the acute shortage in funds allocated to humanitarian action, and call for urgent mobilization of adequate resources, and upgrading concerted efforts at various regional and international levels to that end, while affirming the central role played by the United Nations. We strongly condemn all violations of international humanitarian law, including deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as the denial or obstruction of humanitarian access and the targeting of humanitarian personnel. We underline the need to address accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law. We recognize international efforts undertaken by BRICS members to promote respect for, adherence to, and effective implementation of international humanitarian law.

40. We express strong condemnation of any acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed. We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed and many more injured. We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens. We reiterate that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group and that all those involved in terrorist activities and their support must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with relevant national and international law. We urge to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and reject double standards in countering terrorism. We emphasize the primary responsibility of States in combating terrorism and that global efforts to prevent and counter terrorist threats must fully comply with their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the UN, in particular the purposes and principles thereof, and relevant international conventions and protocols, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as applicable. We welcome the activities of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) and its five Subgroups based upon the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan and the CTWG Position Paper. We look forward to further deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. We call for an expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN framework. We call for concerted actions against all UN designated terrorists and terrorist entities.

41. We also emphasize the importance of countering extremism and radicalization specially among the younger generations and further stress the need to enhance cooperation among the BRICS countries and their competent authorities, including through sharing of best practices.

42. We express our concerns about illicit financial flows including, financing of terrorism, trafficking of firearms, trafficking in persons, the laundering of drug related crimes proceeds, use of ICTs for criminal purposes illegal virtual asset flows, corruption and related illicit activities, money laundering, financial fraud through organized crimes and circumvention of domestic regulatory frameworks that have adverse impact on economic stability, sustainable development and the integrity of the international financial system and organized crime. We also express concern about financing of terrorism. We recognize that these activities, including the illicit use of virtual assets and violations of domestic regulatory frameworks, may adversely affect economic stability, sustainable development and the integrity of the international financial system. We express serious concerns over the proliferation of organized scam networks, including cross-border fraud operations and so-called scam compounds, which exploit digital technologies, payment systems and individuals in vulnerable situations. We underline the importance of coordinated international action to dismantle these illegal networks, trace and recover criminal proceeds, protect victims, and prevent the misuse of financial institutions and emerging payment methods for large-scale fraud. We further stress the need to enhance cross-border cooperation among customs authorities, financial intelligence units, law enforcement agencies, tax authorities and supervisory bodies, including through relevant existing BRICS Working Groups and based on the documents adopted in BRICS, as well as the relevant international legal instruments to which the BRICS countries are parties, telecommunication providers and technology platforms including through improved information-sharing, risk-based approach, use of data analytics and capacity-building, to effectively identify, detect and disrupt money laundering schemes involving both goods and services, including those exploiting the misuse of invoicing practices, professional services and cross-border contractual arrangements. We encourage enhanced cooperation in strengthening digital financial security, including prevention of fraud in cross-border payment systems.

43. We reaffirm our commitment to promote BRICS cooperation in the preventing and combating corruption and to the continued implementation of relevant international agreements in this regard, in particular the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In that context we recognize the progress achieved under the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group in strengthening international cooperation on asset recovery and combating cross-border corruption. We welcome the establishment of BRICS Expert Network on Asset Recovery to enhance cooperation among focal points and experts and encourage competent authorities to make active and effective use of practical tools developed by the Network. We also welcome the BRICS Repository on Informal Cooperation for Tracing Fugitive Offenders Sought for Corruption and Supporting Extradition. We acknowledge ongoing discussions on the proposal of developing a Network of Law Enforcement Practitioners for enhancing international cooperation on Fugitive Offenders, in accordance with our respective domestic legal frameworks. We also acknowledge the initiatives of BRICS countries aimed at promoting transparency, integrity and accountability in governance and the exchange of good practices related to ethical governance and technology-driven systems. We encourage continued cooperation among BRICS countries to strengthen anti-corruption frameworks and institutional capacities. We stress the importance of effective criminal asset recovery in combating corruption and encourage BRICS countries to strengthen cooperation, including through asset tracing networks and other practical mechanisms, with a view to facilitating the recovery and the return of assets in accordance with UNCAC and domestic laws.

44. We express concern over the situation with illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse worldwide, and recognise that it seriously threatens public security, health safety and well-being of humankind and undermines the sustainable development of States. In this regard, we welcome the Guwahati Declaration issued by the BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies that would facilitate operational and technical cooperation among BRICS Anti-Drug Agencies.

45. We appreciate the achievements of the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation (RSSC) in harnessing space technology for addressing global challenges and fostering socio-economic development. We recognise the importance of international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the peaceful use of space systems, and reiterate our commitment to reducing existing asymmetries in space capabilities among BRICS countries. We welcome the discussions in the BRICS Heads of Space Agencies meeting held in Bengaluru that emphasised the importance of space debris mitigation for ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. We also appreciate the significant progress in finalising the amendment to the BRICS RSSC Agreement for making provision for inclusion of new BRICS Space Agencies and in drafting the Terms of Reference for the BRICS Space Council. We also warmly welcome the 65th jubilee of the first human space flight of Mr. Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961, which marked a historic milestone in the exploration of outer space and opened new frontiers for all humankind.

46. We recognize the need to ensure the use of space systems, as well as the achievements of space science and technologies, for peaceful purposes. We also reassert our support for ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space activities and prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS) and of its weaponization, as well as the threats or use of force against outer space objects, including through negotiations to adopt a relevant legal multilateral instrument to ensure global security. We recognize the submission of the updated Draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT) to the Conference on Disarmament in 2014 as an important step towards this goal. We stress that practical and non-binding commitments such as Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures (TCBMs), and universally agreed norms, rules, and principles may also contribute to PAROS. We note the initiative of some BRICS Members at the General Assembly to create a single Open-Ended Working Group to enable coherent, inclusive and effective discussions that serves such purpose and undertake to engage constructively in the process, on the basis of existing achievements, including on substantial elements on a legally binding instrument on PAROS.

47. We recognize the transformative impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a key driver of socio-economic growth and digital transformation in BRICS countries and reaffirm our commitment to further strengthening collaboration in this regard, based on each country's national priorities and international commitments. We reaffirm our support for an open, safe, secure, stable, accessible, peaceful, and interoperable ICT environment while respecting sovereignty and national security of each country and welcome the operationalization of the Global Mechanism on Developments in the Field of ICTs in the Context of International Security and Advancing Responsible States Behaviour in the Use of ICTs. We underscore the central role of the UN in fostering constructive dialogue to forge common understandings on security in the use of ICTs including discussions on developing a universal legal framework in this realm, further observation of universally agreed norms, rules and principles for responsible behaviour of States in the use of ICTs. We encourage all States to consider signing and ratifying the UN Convention against Cybercrime, in accordance with domestic laws, processes and procedures, in order to ensure its rapid entry into force to enhance international cooperation in combating cybercrime. We call upon all States to continue their engagement in the Ad Hoc Committee, in accordance with General Assembly Resolutions 74/247, 75/282 and 79/243, with a view to negotiating a protocol supplementary to the Convention addressing, inter alia, additional criminal offences, as appropriate, and to preparing the draft rules of procedure for the Conference of the States Parties.

48. We recognise the progress made in promoting BRICS cooperation in accordance with the Roadmap of Practical Cooperation on Ensuring Security in the Use of ICTs, and its progress report. We acknowledge the important role of the BRICS Working Group on Security in the use of ICTs in fostering cooperation among BRICS members in areas such as policy exchanges, sharing of best practices among Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), law enforcement cooperation and joint research and development. We underscore the importance of BRICS academic and research exchanges. We emphasize the importance of promoting the use of ICT for peaceful and developmental purposes and in a more inclusive, accessible, sustainable and interoperable manner, and ensuring that its applications remain people centered. We call for concerted and inclusive efforts to address the challenges stemming from and within the digital realm such as threat to security in the use of ICTs, malicious software, data security, and the misuse of technologies including cybercrime, misinformation, hate-speech, disinformation and deepfakes. We call for a comprehensive, balanced, and objective approach to the development and security of ICT products and systems as well as for the development and implementation of globally interoperable common rules and standards for supply chain security. We emphasize the growing importance of telecommunications for the preservation of peace and the economic and social development. Sustainable and Inclusive Global Economic Growth.

49. We note that the current global challenges are complex and interlinked and impede economic growth and sustainable development of countries while accentuating persistent development gaps across countries and regions. We acknowledge that practical and actionable responses, taking into account national priorities, national ownership and different stages of development, are key to addressing these challenges and reiterate the particular importance of sustainable development and inclusive growth in the UN agenda. In this context, we reaffirm that BRICS remains an important platform for dialogue, diplomacy and cooperation in advancing practical solutions to common challenges.

50. We welcome the deepening of cooperation in global health initiatives and reaffirm our commitment to advancing universal health coverage through resilient, inclusive, and people-centred approaches. We recognize the significance of continued cooperation among the BRICS members and the necessity of sharing valuable experiences, innovations and best practices for improving health outcomes across the BRICS countries. We reiterate our shared conviction that multilateral cooperation in health must be preserved and reinforced, emphasizing the vital coordinating role of the World Health Organization. In this context, while reaffirming sovereign rights of States over their biological resources as well as the sovereign right to legislate and implement laws, including national access and benefit-sharing legislation, we encourage continued constructive engagement on the negotiations of the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement in support of a safe, equitable, transparent and effective multilateral framework.

51. We welcome the outcomes of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting held in Chandigarh. We recognize tuberculosis as a critical global public health challenge requiring coordinated action, sustained investment on research and effective mechanisms for cross - learning and innovations. We reiterate that individual countries and institutions have a key role to play in the path to end TB, which is possible through mutual collaboration, shared technology, and a unified front to foster TB research. Acknowledging that infectious disease outbreaks, zoonotic threats, antimicrobial resistance and other public health emergencies transcend national borders and require strengthened international cooperation, timely information sharing and coordinated collective action, we underscore the importance of enhancing global health security through resilient surveillance systems, effective early warning mechanisms, and strengthened preparedness and response capacities. Recognizing the central role of the World Health Organization and the amended International Health Regulations (2005), we underscore the importance of enhancing global health through resilient surveillance early warning and rapid response systems and coordination. In this regard, we welcome the establishment of a dedicated Sub-Working Group to advance the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention and response to Mass Infectious Diseases, and its Terms of Reference.

52. We encourage strengthened collaboration among BRICS Medical Products Regulatory Authorities by extending the scope of the existing Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of medical products regulation to the Regulatory Authorities of all BRICS Member countries, and reiterate the importance of strengthening collaborative regulatory approaches to ensure the continued availability and accessibility of quality, safe and efficacious medical products. In this regard, we welcome the collective efforts of BRICS Regulatory Authorities in developing the BRICS GxP White Paper, consolidating best practices of regulatory experience and technical approaches.

53. We further reaffirm our commitment to strengthening cooperation on people-centred digital healthcare systems and welcome the BRICS Compendium on Digital Health Architecture for Continuum of Care, including Access to Healthcare in Remote Areas, as a valuable knowledge resource.

54. We recognise that obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as major global public health challenges and reaffirm our commitment to strengthening preventive and promotive healthcare through whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches. In this regard, we endorse the launch of the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and the BRICS Roadmap for the Joint Initiative on Healthy Lifestyle Promotion (2026–2029). We also welcome the Compendium of Replicable Best Practices on Healthy Lifestyle. We recognise the promotion of mental well-being as a vital pillar of health and sustainable development and support the establishment of a BRICS Training Hub Network and a BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence (CoE) with National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) being the coordinating CoE. The Network of CoEs could also serve as a platform to facilitate collaborative research, policy dialogue, exchange of best practices, and the co-development of evidence-based mental health promotion strategies across BRICS countries. A designated group of representatives from each BRICS Member State shall jointly govern the coordination of the Centre of Excellence/Network of CoEs, ensuring balanced decision-making and shared accountability to achieve deep scientific and technical cooperation and ensure the sustainable and scalable integration of mental well-being into primary healthcare. We also welcome the Compendium of Best Practices on Promotion of Mental Wellness.

55. We emphasize the importance of addressing the mental health consequences of crises and are committed to providing timely, accessible, and sustained mental health and psycho-social (MHPSS) interventions to affected populations, particularly people in vulnerable situations, including children and adolescents.

56. We acknowledge the growing relevance of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) to strengthening health systems and contributing towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We welcome the proposed establishment of the BRICS Expert Working Group on TCIM under the BRICS Health Track as a platform for dialogue, collaboration and exchange among Member States. We underscore the value of coordinated research on medicinal plants and herbal preparations of therapeutic and preventive use, so that the shared traditional pharmacopoeias of Member Countries may serve as a foundation for developing safe, effective, and affordable therapeutic products. We reaffirm the importance of ensuring quality, safety and efficacy of TCIM practices and products through evidence-informed approaches and appropriate regulatory frameworks in accordance with the national contexts.

57. We emphasize the importance of strengthening the health workforce to ensure the resilient and advanced health system in developing countries and LDCs. In this regard, we call for expanded BRICS cooperation in capacity building, training, and research, among others.

58. We acknowledge the vital role of National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) in strengthening public healthcare systems through policy guidance, workforce development, disease surveillance, preparedness and response, public healthcare laboratory systems and applied research. We acknowledge the importance of addressing the diseases driven by social determinants of health (DD-SDH) through multisectoral collaboration, exchange of best practices, and innovative health technologies, including digital health, to strengthen collective capacities and accelerate progress towards reducing inequities in health outcomes. We, therefore endorse the “operational frameworks” on NPHIs & DD-SDH as collaborative platforms according to national contexts to strengthen the collective actions by BRICS member countries. We support the activities of BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre and recognize the importance of collaboration in nuclear medicine. We welcome the activities of the BRICS Nuclear Medicine Working Group, to further strengthen cooperation among BRICS Member States and advance continued collaboration in the field. We note the importance of the BRICS Health Journal for disseminating research findings and promoting scientific cooperation within the BRICS framework, and encourage continued engagement of BRICS countries in its development.

59. We emphasize the importance of strengthening health infrastructure and local production of medical products, enhancing preparedness for future health emergencies through stronger surveillance systems, laboratory networks, leveraging digital health technology and Artificial Intelligence, integrating traditional medicine in health systems, technical cooperation among public health institutes, development of robust regulatory frameworks, skilled health workforces, and collaborative research and development, capacity building and training to ensure timely, affordable, and equitable access to healthcare services, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

60. We recognize that BRICS countries are key players in world food production and, as such, have a critical role in enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability, and ensuring global food security and nutrition. We emphasize the importance of ensuring food security and nutrition and mitigating the impacts of acute food price volatility, as well as abrupt supply crises, including fertilizers shortage. In this regard, we acknowledge the importance of continued elaboration of the initiative to establish a grain trading platform within BRICS (the BRICS Grain Exchange) and welcome further discussions on the modalities of its functioning and its subsequent development, and expanding into other agricultural products and commodities. We support further discussions on national policies and on international coordination that enhance food availability, accessibility, utilization, stability and affordability, as well as relevant agricultural and food production inputs in BRICS and other developing countries - including those that strengthen national capacities to respond to supply disruptions, such as national food reserve systems, and drought resilient and climate adaptive seed systems. Building on the Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition, we also recognize the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty as an important initiative to promote international cooperation. We also look forward to discussions on facilitating intra-BRICS trade of agricultural products, and agricultural and food production inputs, including by promoting resilient and non-discriminatory supply chains, and improve value chains and sustainable agricultural practices. We also recognize that family farmers, including smallholders, pastoralists, artisanal and small-scale fishers and aquaculture producers, indigenous peoples and local communities, women and youth in accordance with national legislation, are essential stakeholders of agriculture and food systems.

61. We welcome the outcomes of the 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, held in Indore. We agree to the establishment of a collaborative, non-binding, and farmer-centric BRICS AGRIN (Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources, and Information Network), drawing upon relevant national, regional, and international practices. We also welcome the launch of a Global Forum on Farmers' Rights in Seed Systems to address shared challenges, promote effective policies, and encourage the documentation and exchange of traditional knowledge related to agriculture and seed systems.

62. We further welcome the strengthening of cooperation in agriculture through the establishment of a BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture for Climate Resilience and Productivity, and a BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, including agroforestry, fisheries, and aquaculture. We also encourage further cooperation under the BRICS Dialogue on Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

63. We reaffirm our commitment to advancing agriculture negotiations at the WTO, in accordance with existing Ministerial mandates and the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), with a view to achieving progress on long-standing mandated issues and promoting a fair, balanced and development-oriented agricultural trading system, while recognizing that evolving policy and regulatory developments increasingly affect agricultural production and trade, food security and the livelihoods of smallholders and family farmers. We also welcome ongoing efforts to promote sustainability, inclusivity, and equitable market access in the global sustainable vegetable oils sector.

64. We recognize that energy security is a crucial foundation for social and economic development, national security and the welfare of all nations. We highlight the need to enhance energy security by ensuring energy market stability and maintaining undisrupted flows of energy from diverse sources, strengthening value chains, ensuring resilience and protection of critical energy infrastructure, including cross-border infrastructure. We acknowledge fossil fuels will still play an important role in the world’s energy mix, particularly for emerging markets and developing economies, and we recognize the need to promote just, orderly, equitable and inclusive energy transitions and reduce GHG emissions in line with our climate goals and observing SDG7, and the principles of technological neutrality and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities taking into account national circumstances, needs and priorities. We welcome the work of the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform (ERCP) and the convening of the BRICS Youth Energy Summit to facilitate greater participation of women and youth in BRICS energy discourses.

65. We highlight the growing role of digitalization in energy systems including technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics that offer significant potential to improve system planning, grid management, renewable integration, operational efficiency and a strengthened cyber-resilient energy infrastructure. In this regard, we welcome the BRICS Guiding Principles on Smart Grids and Energy Storage. We note the Chairship initiative on establishing the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage under the Smart Grids Workstream of the BRICS ERCP as an enabling voluntary dialogue mechanism to advance cooperation.

66. We underscore the importance of balanced and diversified energy mixes reflecting national circumstances and recognize that the widest variety of energy sources and technologies including but not limited to renewable energy, bioenergy, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, hydropower, hydrogen, low carbon technologies, energy storage technologies, which play an important role in achieving the SDGs and energy security. We underscore the role of all available energy sources, resilient energy supply chains and enhanced cooperation among BRICS countries through deliberations in the energy track. In this regard, we encourage BRICS collaboration on interoperable standards and certification frameworks for zero/ low-emissions hydrogen and appreciate the ongoing work on the BRICS Joint Report on Hydrogen Value Chains in this regard.

67. We affirm the need to promote reliable, responsible, diversified, resilient, fair, sustainable, and just supply chains of critical minerals to guarantee benefit sharing, value addition and economic diversification in resource-rich countries, while fully preserving sovereign rights over their mineral resources, as well as their right to adopt, maintain and enforce measures necessary to pursue legitimate public policy objectives. We recognize the key role of critical minerals for the development of zero- and low- emission energy technologies, energy security, and resilience of energy supply chains.

68. We reemphasize the importance of strengthening cooperation under the Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR) which serves as a guiding platform to identify interests, challenges, and opportunities in the rapidly evolving industrial landscape. We underscore the important role of BRICS economies in fostering innovation, advancing technological cooperation, including in areas related to Industry 4.0, and promoting deeper engagement among start-ups and SMEs through intra-BRICS initiatives and exchanges. We reaffirm our support for the ongoing efforts of the sectoral working groups under the framework of PartNIR. We encourage BRICS members to leverage established mechanisms to advance cooperation in areas of mutual interest. We appreciate the efforts of the BRICS PartNIR Innovation Center (BPIC) in organising events in 2026, including but not limited to the BRICS Forum on PartNIR. We welcome the establishment of the BRICS Incubator Network and further consideration of a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund, as a potential mechanism to catalyse startups for innovation-led growth. We also appreciate the strengthening of the BRICS Startup Knowledge Hub and the BRICS Startup Forum.

69. While recognizing the key role of the industrial sector to realize economic growth and structural transformation, we agree to foster entrepreneurship and startup-led innovation, including through industrial park developments and other national initiatives for industrialisation to facilitate input linkage, increase manufacturing industry exports, market access to MSMEs, technology transfer and cooperation, productivity, and ensure environmental sustainability.

70. We acknowledge the work of seven specialized Working Groups of BRICS Industrial cooperation and commend their achievements. We welcome the adoption of the Terms of Reference and Action Plan of the Photovoltaic Industry Working Group and encourage each BRICS member to develop its respective knowledge portal for sharing policy updates and best practices, and support the development of the BRICS Solar Photovoltaic Cooperation Roadmap to identify priority areas for technology cooperation, financing and capacity building. We acknowledge the efforts undertaken by the Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotics Working Group to formulate its action plan to identify initiatives on smart factory development, solution sharing, standard cooperation and talent cultivation. We acknowledge the importance of promoting digitalisation, sustainability and innovation in the chemical production sector within the Working Group on Chemical Industry for the benefit of the BRICS countries.

71. We acknowledge the initiatives undertaken by the SME Working Group and commend the Indian Chairship for convening the inaugural BRICS SME Forum in Agra and its report titled “Advancing MSME Competitiveness in BRICS: Strengthening Access to Finance & Technology and Sustainable Growth”, recognizing its scope in relation to fostering cooperation, exchange of best practices and inclusive growth among MSMEs across BRICS countries and support the convening of second SME Forum. In this regard, we welcome the Framework for Cooperation in the SME Working Group.

72. We appreciate the operationalisation of the BRICS Centre for Industrial Competencies established in cooperation with UNIDO and the work undertaken to support manufacturing companies including SMEs in BRICS countries in the adoption of Industry 4.0 and advanced digital production technologies. We note that the platform facilitates targeted exchanges on new industrialisation through emerging frontier technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, as appropriate and in accordance with each member state’s national priorities. We note the initiative of China Centre for BRICS Industrial Competences (CCBIC) to release a compendium on BRICS Industrial Cooperation and welcome the establishment of the India Centre for BRICS Industrial Competencies (ICBIC). We encourage the BCIC to strengthen its engagement with all BRICS countries.

73. We underscore the importance of cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as a key driver for sustainable economic and social development and commend the work of the 14 thematic BRICS STI Working Groups and the BRICS STI Steering Committee in this regard. We reaffirm our commitment to sustainable development, developing new quality productive forces, fostering more resilient and high-quality growth, social inclusiveness and promoting innovation and technology as catalysts for improving the welfare and quality of life of the people across BRICS countries. We welcome the Chennai Consensus Joint Declaration of our STI Ministers and acknowledge the BRICS Science and Research Repository envisaged as a structured platform for knowledge storage and sharing among BRICS countries on a voluntary basis and in accordance with national laws and regulations, while respecting data security, intellectual property rights and relevant national policies and take note of its draft Framework Document. We also appreciate the cooperation in emerging spheres such as quantum technologies. We welcome the adoption of the BRICS Working Group on Research Infrastructure and Megascience Projects Action Plan and the proposal to create BRICS Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network (GRAIN) Centres and Joint Coordination Committee.

74. We acknowledge that submarine cable infrastructure for BRICS countries is an important foundation for international digital connectivity and network resilience. We appreciate the coordination of a dedicated Task Force that concluded the document “BRICS Cable Requirements: directive brief”, following the Rio de Janeiro Declaration of 2025, which welcomed the discussion of undertaking a “Technical and Economic Feasibility Study” for establishing a high-speed communication network through submarine cables between the BRICS countries. In this regard, we support continued dialogue and cooperation on voluntary basis among BRICS countries, in accordance with national circumstances and priorities. We further encourage the BRICS STI Steering Committee to continue this dialogue within the Task Force and propose the next steps for the feasibility study respecting national priorities and regulations and look forward to enhanced coordination between the BRICS ICT track and the STI track and prevent duplication of work for further progress.

75. We celebrate the ten-year milestone of the BRICS STI Framework Programme, which serves as the main mechanism of funding joint scientific research. We note the dedicated event in Russia in October 2026 to mark this occasion. We also welcome the launch of the first Innovation Call, Pilot Flagship Call, as well as the 7th Regular Call for Research Projects and look forward to their results.

76. Recognizing the important role of youth in driving innovation and contributing to our collective prosperity, economic growth and future competitiveness, we encourage BRICS members to promote the engagement of young researchers and startups through established mechanisms, including the Young Scientists Forum and the Young Innovators Prize. We also acknowledge the initiatives aimed at strengthening innovation ecosystems and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, including the proposed Virtual Platform for BRICS Youth Startups to enable engagement and networking among the BRICS Young Scientists and Young Innovators alumni and to facilitate dialogue, networking and voluntary exchange among them.

77. We recognize that digital and ICT ecosystems are a critical foundation for economic development, social inclusion, improved service-delivery, sustainable growth, resilience and innovation and emphasize deepening BRICS cooperation towards a sovereign and self-reliant digital ecosystem. In this regard, we underscore the transformative potential of resilient, safe, secure, inclusive and interoperable digital public infrastructure and digital public goods, based on national priorities and circumstances to strengthen digital ecosystems and to deliver services at scale and increase social and economic opportunities for all. We note the proposal to launch the digital public infrastructure repository for BRICS countries and pilot projects of digital public infrastructure solutions for digital transformation for BRICS countries.

78. We recognize that future networks research and development is of great significance to the promotion of digital transformation and connectivity among BRICS countries, and encourage all BRICS members to nominate a national branch for BIFN. In this regard, we note the proposal of the establishment of a digital ecosystem cooperation network for BRICS countries, including proposal on relevant information portal.

79. We encourage enhancing cooperation in digital skilling, research cooperation and capacity building through scalable, context-responsive and collaborative approaches. In this regard, we note the proposal for the capacity building centres for BRICS member states as a commendable effort towards fostering a future-ready workforce. We also appreciate efforts in developing a Compendium on Universal and Resilient Digital Connectivity for sharing policy experiences with BRICS countries. Further, we welcome the convening of the Digital BRICS Forum 2026. We also note the holding of the meeting of Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure.

80. We emphasize our commitment to ensuring a safe digital environment for children, including through proactive measures, awareness-raising, prevention, exchange of best practices, capacity-building and user-centric protection. We further emphasize our commitment to ensuring a safe digital environment for senior citizens, as well as for people in vulnerable situations, for whom targeted preventive and awareness-raising measures are required.

81. We recognize that Artificial Intelligence presents immense opportunity to stimulate economic growth and sustainable development for all. We further note that international cooperation in enhancing accessibility of AI resources while ensuring its safety, security, inclusiveness and reliability, for promoting energy efficiency of AI systems, fostering AI Science and Innovation, developing trustworthy AI technologies, leveraging AI for economic growth and social good and mitigating potential risks would be essential for promoting a just, fair, equitable and prosperous future of all countries, especially those of Global South. We congratulate India on the successful holding of the AI Impact Summit in February 2026 and acknowledge that the Summit will contribute to strengthening international cooperation to advance common priorities. We also acknowledge the World AI Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai and its contribution in strengthening AI international cooperation for good and for all. We commit to implement the BRICS Leaders' Statement on the Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence.

82. While acknowledging the growing complexity of disaster risks, including those related to climate change especially for the Global South, we reaffirm our commitment to BRICS cooperation to improve national disaster risk reduction systems and capacities to reduce disaster-related damage and protect infrastructure, human lives and livelihoods; to share traditional, indigenous, local knowledge and community-based approaches, to ensure preparedness and self-reliance; as well as to mobilize adequate, predictable and accessible financing, including public and private investment, for comprehensive infrastructure development. In this context, we welcome the BRICS Guidelines for Disaster Management Early Warning Data Integration and the BRICS Voluntary Principles for Climate-Resilient Urban Infrastructure.

83. We underscore that strengthening the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks is vital for achieving sustainable development. In this regard, we acknowledge the role of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as an international partnership for supporting member and partner countries in integrating resilience across infrastructure systems through technical assistance, knowledge exchange, enabling policy and financing approaches. We underscore the importance of investing in building sustainable resilience, prioritising prevention and taking anticipatory action, rooted in evidence-based policy making. We also underscore the importance of enhancing early warning systems and risk-informed planning to strengthen preparedness and response capacities.

84. We acknowledge that BRICS members represent a broad diversity of societies and civilisations that are affected differently by unjustified unilateral protectionist measures inconsistent with WTO rules, and that BRICS should focus on promoting a just and fair, stable and predictable environment for mutually beneficial sustainable development. We emphasize the importance of creating more resilient, reliable and stable supply chains, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries for their modernization efforts. In this regard, we agree that BRICS should work towards broader and more equitable participation of developing countries and emerging markets in higher-value added segments of global manufacturing and production, including through promoting trade and investment initiatives, technical cooperation, promotion of productive capacities and technology transfer in line with each members’ respective laws, regulations and policies.

85. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening the internationalization of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as a driver of economic growth and prosperity. We acknowledge that access to affordable finance remains a primary bottleneck and structural constraint, limiting MSMEs' participation in trade and integration into Global Value Chains (GVCs). We welcome the BRICS Guiding Principles for Credit Assessment Frameworks for Export-oriented MSMEs that leverage diverse and relevant data sources to reduce information asymmetries, improve risk assessment and expand access to formal finance for underserved MSMEs. We understand the importance of promoting innovative financing mechanisms, including digital and platform-based multistakeholder solutions for facilitating easier access to trade finance for MSMEs. We welcome the Jaipur Consensus to study the establishment of an Invoice Discounting Mechanism for BRICS members aimed at facilitating invoice discounting, enabling MSMEs to unlock working capital and strengthen their participation in international trade.

86. We reiterate the importance of cooperation to ensure that Global Value Chains (GVCs) are resilient, efficient, predictable, productive, transparent, secure, fair, stable and inclusive. We welcome efforts towards digitization in the GVCs. In this regard, we encourage technical cooperation to foster opportunities for trade facilitation, capacity building, critical infrastructure, industrial capacities, enhanced connectivity, intellectual property protection, and promotion and acceleration of safe, secure and affordable access to technology in a manner that contributes to sustainable growth consistent with domestic priorities, national laws and each Member’s international obligations, as applicable. We intend to explore the potential of mutually reinforcing policy levers to enhance intra-BRICS trade. We support the implementation of the Workplan on BRICS Shared Understanding on GVCs and welcome the further development of the BRICS GVC Action Plan 2026-2030 and all the initiatives mentioned therein. We also emphasize the need for this Action Plan to specifically address the challenges faced by EMDCs in moving up the value chain.

87. We share the willingness to harness the potential of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of the BRICS Members as well established mechanisms for promoting trade, investment, industrial cooperation, innovation, and integration into resilient and sustainable GVCs, by providing enterprises with an enabling business environment, efficient infrastructure, streamlined regulatory procedures, and other facilitative measures that enhance ease of doing business. We aim to build cooperation in connectivity and trade facilitation inter alia digitisation of trade documentation for stakeholders to operate in a more efficient, transparent, and seamless environment, taking into consideration different capacities of each BRICS Member.

88. We reaffirm our support of the Kimberley Process as the sole global intergovernmental certification scheme, regulating trade in rough diamonds and emphasize our commitment to preventing conflict diamonds from entering the markets. We welcome India’s Chairship of the Kimberley Process in 2026. We note the Informal BRICS Cooperation Platform with the participation of African diamond-mining nations to ensure free trade in rough diamonds and the sustainable development of the global diamond industry. We will continue to examine viable mechanisms to promote trade in diamond and precious metals within BRICS and in the global market.

89. We reaffirm our commitment to deepening pragmatic economic cooperation and advancing a closer economic partnership among BRICS members. We recognise that the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership continues to serve as the overarching framework guiding our cooperation, providing the basis for the further development of sectoral strategies, programmes and roadmaps under the ownership of member countries. Recognising the progress made towards the conclusion of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership during Brazil’s Chairship in 2025, we commend India for its leadership in 2026 in fulfilling the mandate given by Leaders in 2025, by successfully steering the progress of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030.

90. We acknowledge the efforts of the BRICS Payment Task Force (BPTF) towards exploring pragmatic solutions for efficient cross-border payment mechanisms, drawing on the guidance, provided by us in the Kazan and Rio Declarations, on the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative. In this regard, we acknowledge the work done to study the cross-border interoperability of payment and messaging channels, and the discussions on promoting trade settlements and investments using BRICS local currencies, while respecting national priorities and acknowledging that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. We encourage the BPTF to continue discussions, building on the ongoing work, to facilitate practical solutions for cross-border payments among BRICS countries, which are fast, low-cost, more accessible, efficient, transparent, and safe.

91. We welcome the work of the Task Force on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Infrastructure. We welcome the Task Force’s Technical Report on PPP models and modalities, and de-risking mechanisms, which will serve as a valuable knowledge resource for member countries in strengthening their PPP ecosystems and improving risk allocation frameworks.

92. We recognise the need for harnessing the collective potential of BRICS to build a more self-reliant BRICS insurance ecosystem to support trade among members, and further discussion on enhancing reinsurance capacities. Building on the work of previous Chairships, we welcome continued discussions among interested members on exploring the concept of a BRICS Insurance Resilience Centre (BIRC) as a voluntary shared capability platform for developing common risk models, exchanging best practices and building specialist capabilities. In this regard, members expressed interest in taking forward the discussions on India's proposal to host a BRICS Risk Lab, open to participation by interested members, at the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat. We look forward to further discussions regarding enhancing BRICS members’ (re)insurance capacity, with the voluntary participation of relevant stakeholders, comprising regulators, and reinsurance companies from BRICS countries.

93. We reiterate our encouragement to continue technical-level efforts on the New Investment Platform (NIP) and building on the guidelines finalised under the Brazilian Chairship. We also welcome the progress achieved under the Indian Chairship in advancing discussions on the NIP. We note the constructive technical discussions held among members on the establishment of a dedicated Study Group under the BRICS Finance Track as a platform for technical dialogue and knowledge-sharing. We acknowledge the broad support expressed by members for continuing the work on a consensus-based, phased and member-driven approach, while respecting national sovereignty, diverse regulatory frameworks and existing institutional mandates. We encourage the continuation of technical engagement, including further refinement of the Study Group's Terms of Reference, to advancing shared understanding on operational modalities and the role of relevant BRICS institutions.

94. Reiterating our encouragement to explore potential appropriate formats for dialogue on settlement and depositary infrastructure, we take note of the technical workshop that explored the diverse legal, institutional, regulatory, and technical dimensions of settlement and depositary systems across members, which will deepen the understanding across BRICS jurisdictions and provide a basis for continued voluntary exchange of knowledge, experiences and technical dialogue and cooperation among interested stakeholders.

95. We welcome the sharing of experiences on areas of cybersecurity developments and trends, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies such as quantum computing for the financial sector. We acknowledge the work done under the BRICS Rapid Information Security Channel (BRISC) and BRICS Fintech Working Group in adopting an EMDE-centric approach to assess the opportunities and risks posed by new technologies. We recognize the importance of conducting the BRICS Cyber Exercises and Drills on an annual basis, which underscore the importance of collective and coordinated approaches, mutual learning and practical cooperation in strengthening cyber resilience in the financial sector. We welcome the BRICS Central Bank Hub for Capacity Building aimed at building expertise in emerging areas of central banking.

96. We recognise the disproportionate burden imposed by climate change across countries, with EMDEs facing particular challenges in addressing climate-related risks and vulnerabilities, as well as the substantial gaps in funding needs, particularly for adaptation measures. In this context, we welcome the report on the “Role of Central Banks towards optimising Sustainable and Green Finance, including Adaptation”, which examines central bank measures and sustainable finance trends, including efforts to explore the possibility of making climate finance projects more bankable, globally as well as within BRICS countries.

97. We acknowledge the efforts of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) Technical Team towards enhancing the CRA's operational resilience and making it more responsive during times of crises. Amendments to the CRA Treaty will help the CRA function with greater flexibility and responsiveness as a BRICS financial safety net. We look forward to timely completion of the ninth CRA Test Run, and release of the seventh edition of the BRICS Economic Bulletin on the theme “Global Economic Uncertainties and Implications for BRICS”. We value the participation of new BRICS members who have expressed interest in joining the CRA and we look forward to timely completion of discussions on onboarding them on a voluntary basis and according to country specific circumstances.

98. We reaffirm our commitment to a fair, inclusive, stable, and efficient international tax system and to strengthening cooperation among BRICS members in addressing evolving international tax challenges. We further reaffirm our commitment to strengthening BRICS Tax Cooperation through resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability, while promoting knowledge sharing and capacity building, constructive engagement in international forums like the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and its protocols. We welcome the initiatives undertaken during India's Chairship to deepen institutional cooperation among BRICS tax authorities, including through establishment of Working Groups on International Taxation & Transfer Pricing and on Revenue Statistics. We welcome the in-person capacity building programme for Young Tax Professionals and the advancement of the BRICS Women in Tax Network. We further appreciate the continued efforts to promote innovation and knowledge sharing through existing and new mechanisms, welcoming the initiatives on the establishment of the BRICS Tax Support Network and the launch of the BRICS Tax Cross-Learning Lab, as well as the further development of the BRICS Tax Collaboration Tool.

99. We acknowledge the deepening of customs cooperation among BRICS countries since its inception in 2012. We encourage the BRICS Customs Centres of Excellence to undertake targeted training and technical cooperation programmes responsive to Members’ needs. We welcome the convergence achieved on the BRICS Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, the willingness of Members ready to proceed with its signing, subject to completion of the necessary national processes and efforts to secure participation of all BRICS countries. We acknowledge the endeavour to continue strengthening cooperation on Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) programmes through voluntary implementation of the BRICS AEO Action Plan 2026, information exchange, capacity building, sharing of best practices and mutual recognition, taking into account national frameworks and priorities; to work towards conducting the BRICS Joint Customs Enforcement Operation, as an annual initiative, where appropriate, in consultation with BRICS members, coordinated by the respective BRICS Chairship, based on mutually identified cross-border smuggling trends, shared priorities and operational feasibility; and building on the experience of the first Joint Customs Enforcement Operation to improve operational coordination and address mutually identified and emerging customs threats.

100. We welcome the initiative of the Indian Chairship to establish a BRICS Task Force on Growth and Development as a dedicated platform to address shared growth and development challenges of relevance to BRICS and other EMDEs. We recognise the Task Force as a platform that provides BRICS countries a space to discuss growth models suited to their own national contexts and development priorities. We note with appreciation the work done under the two workstreams of the Task Force covering the Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and the Sustainability pillars. We welcome the Chair’s Summary of the Task Force and the Technical Notes that identify areas of convergence on the development finance architecture reform agenda, facilitate shared understanding of the macroeconomic and financial implications of digital transformation, AI, and structural reform, and inform BRICS members' engagement in relevant multilateral forums. We acknowledge the Discussion note reflecting shared perspectives on climate finance, drawing on the principles of UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement. We encourage the continuation of work of the Task Force in alignment with the workstreams of Ministries of Finance and Central Banks. We also take note of the Compendium on Financing Mechanisms for Lifestyle for Sustainable Development and the Review of Climate-Related Vulnerabilities highlighting BRICS countries’ approaches to mobilising finance for sustainable development. We also welcome the Discussion Paper on Artificial Intelligence and the Green Economy, which highlights opportunities to leverage AI for sustainable growth.

101. Recognising the challenges of population ageing and large informal workforces, we welcome the workshops held during India’s Chairship in a BRICS forum of pension regulators and supervisors, to strengthen cooperation on pension regulation and retirement income security.

102. We welcome the progress made in advancing the BRICS Multilateral Guarantees (BMG) initiative in line with the guidance provided in Rio Declaration in 2025. We recognise the potential of the initiative to mobilise private capital, improve creditworthiness and reduce financing costs for development projects in BRICS and the Global South. We encourage continued technical work and the development of pilot transactions.

103. Recognising its role in policy research and intellectual resource sharing, we welcome the continued contribution of the BRICS Think Tank Network for Finance under India’s Chairship in leveraging fintech for inclusive development and financing resilient infrastructure. We support efforts to strengthen its research output and dissemination.

104. We welcome the outcomes of the BRICS Transport Ministers’ Meeting held in Nagpur and look forward to further promoting transport dialogue, including in civil aviation, to meet the demand of all stakeholders and to enhance the BRICS countries’ transport potential while also respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states, while carrying out transport cooperation. We reaffirm the commitment of BRICS countries to deepen cooperation in the areas of transport policy, investment, technological and capacity building with a view to develop sustainable and resilient transport infrastructure, recognizing its critical role in economic growth, connectivity, and environmental sustainability. In this regard, we acknowledge the importance of embedding circular economy principles into the development and maintenance of transport infrastructure across BRICS countries, and promoting Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Low-Carbon Aviation Fuels as means for reducing carbon emissions in international aviation. We welcome the BRICS Forum on Sustainable Aviation Fuels, the BRICS Framework of Cooperation for Exchange of Knowledge on Transport Decarbonisation while leveraging our renewable energy potentials, and the establishment of BRICS Urban Mobility Hub for knowledge exchange and cooperation in accessible, affordable, inclusive, and smart urban transport solutions. We welcome the establishment of the BRICS Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework and encourage discussion on the BRICS Railway Research Network proposal.

105. We welcome the entry into force of the 2016 amendment to Article 50(a) of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, expanding membership of the ICAO Council by adding four seats to underrepresented regions, including Africa and Asia Pacific and welcome the candidatures of Ethiopia, endorsed by the African Union as the sole African candidate, and Indonesia to assume the additional seats in the Council in the upcoming elections taking place during the 43rd (Extraordinary) ICAO Assembly.

106. We welcome the convening of the BRICS Urbanisation Forum in New Delhi and the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration. We reaffirm our commitment to advancing people-centred urban development and creating inclusive, sustainable, resilient and liveable cities through strengthened cooperation on adequate, safe and affordable housing, water and sanitation, sustainable mobility, harmonised and efficient mobility, waste management and other essential urban services. We also commend the establishment of the BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network as a platform for applied research, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building to support resilient and sustainable urban development.

107. We reiterate our commitment to uphold multilateralism as necessary to address challenges threatening our shared planet and future, such as climate change. We resolve to remain united in the pursuit of the purpose, principles, and objectives of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement and call on all countries to uphold their existing commitment as Parties to these instruments and to maintain and scale up their effort to combat climate change. We further reaffirm our steadfast commitment, in pursuit of the objective of the UNFCCC, to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, including its provisions related to mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and the provision of means of implementation to developing countries, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances. We also recognize that high debt burdens further constrain climate and development investment in many developing countries and called for coordinated international action to enhance debt sustainability, expand fiscal space, and support sustainable development and climate financing. We encourage BRICS cooperation in this regard in the Contact Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development. We commend the successful conclusion of the Brazilian COP30 presidency and express support for Ethiopia’s UNFCCC COP32 presidency.

108. We oppose unilateral, punitive, discriminatory and protectionist measures that are not in line with international law, such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms, and express concern that such measures undermine efforts by countries, specifically the developing countries, aimed at addressing the adverse impacts of climate change, increasing adaptive capacity and resilience.

109. We highlight the potential of the BRICS Climate Research Platform and the BRICS Laboratory for Trade, Climate Change and Sustainable Development for promoting climate action and building resilience in the BRICS Member Countries and we look forward to their further development. Recalling 2025 Leaders' Framework Declaration on Climate Finance we support promoting cooperation in the field of carbon markets, with a specific focus on capacity building and exchange of experiences and look forward to the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the BRICS Carbon Markets Partnership as a cooperative approach to support members in their climate strategies, including in complementing mitigation efforts and mobilizing needed resources. We appreciate knowledge sharing through the BRICS High-level Dialogue on People-Centric Community-based Adaptation Approaches and the Dialogue on Aligning Carbon Markets with Adaptation Goals.

110. We encourage enhanced cooperation among BRICS countries on people-centric and community-based adaptation as an important pathway to strengthening climate resilience and sustainable development. Developed countries shall provide additional, adequate, predictable, accessible financial resources, capacity building support, technology development and transfer to developing countries for adaptation. We recognise the value of traditional knowledge systems, indigenous and local communities’ practices, local innovations, and community experiences in enhancing adaptive capacity and addressing climate challenges, and encourage the exchange of experiences, knowledge, and best practices, including on the integration of traditional knowledge with scientific knowledge and technological innovation. In this regard, we welcome the BRICS Principles for advancing Climate Resilience through People-Centric and Community-based Adaptation based on Traditional Knowledge. We underscore the importance of nationally determined just transitions and balanced mitigation and adaptation actions. We also highlight the importance of all available and accessible solutions and technologies that contribute to emission reduction and enhance adaptive capacity, including the critical role of ecosystems as carbon stocks and sinks, providers of ecosystem services, and contributors to climate resilience.

111. We underscore the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and of the effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and its Protocols, and its Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We appreciated the establishment of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund and the contribution made by China and recognized its significant role in supporting developing countries for their biodiversity conservation. We also note BRICS countries’ initiatives including the Action Initiative for the KMGBF. We urge developed countries to ensure the provision of adequate, effective, and predictable, timely and accessible financial resources to developing countries as well as to improve capacity building, development and transfer of technology to developing countries for the conservation, sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biodiversity. While appreciating the efforts of our countries to preserve rare species and noting the high vulnerability of big cats, we take note of the Republic of India’s initiative to create an International Big Cats Alliance and encourage BRICS countries to work together for the conservation of big cats.

112. We underscore the critical role of all types of forests, including boreal and tropical forests, for conserving biodiversity, water basins and soils and providing timber and non-timber forest products of high value for economic sectors, regulating hydrological cycles, as well as combatting desertification, land degradation and drought and serving as vital carbon sinks. We encourage the sharing of best practices supporting sustainable forest management and restoration. We further underscore their role in supporting livelihoods, including those of indigenous peoples and local communities, through sustainable use. We also welcome the adoption of the BRICS Principles for Integrated Landscape-Based Greening and Land Restoration and the Common Understanding for Wildfire Preparedness & Response across BRICS countries. We welcome the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility at the Belém Climate Summit and recognize it as an innovative mechanism designed to mobilize long-term, results-based financing for tropical forest conservation. We encourage potential investor countries to announce ambitious contributions, in order to ensure the Facility’s capitalization and timely operationalization. We also take note of the "United for Our Forests” initiative, and acknowledge national large-scale greening initiatives which promotes the conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of these essential tropical ecosystems. We take note of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, co-led by the UAE and Indonesia, as platforms for international cooperation.

113. We acknowledge critical environmental challenges such as water availability, desertification, drought, land degradation, as well as sand and dust storms, and wildfire with significant implications for ecosystems, agriculture, livelihoods of people in vulnerable situations and socio-economic development. We are committed to integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, water resources, forests, peatland and mangroves, farmlands, grasslands and deserts for holistic ecosystem restoration. We recognize the role of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Senegal to be held in Abu Dhabi from 8 to 10 December 2026, and look forward to advancing progress and discussions to accelerate implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) on Clean Water and Sanitation.

114. We note the growing scale and complexity of waste generation driven by urbanisation, industrialisation, and evolving consumption patterns. We emphasise the importance of strengthening integrated waste management frameworks, supported by national policy instruments such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), eco-design and sustainable public procurement, enhanced monitoring mechanisms, and investments in recycling and recovery infrastructure, as per national priorities and capabilities, with a view to improving material circularity and resource efficiency. We welcome the initiative to establish a Network of BRICS Institutions to Advance Knowledge Sharing, Research and Innovation in Sustainable Lifestyles. We welcome the possibility of organising BRICS Sustainable Lifestyle Week in 2026.

115. As the New Development Bank embarks on its second golden decade of high-quality development, we recognize and support its growing role as a robust and strategic agent of development and modernization in all shareholder countries and in the Global South. We underscore the growing role of the New Development Bank (NDB) in meeting the development priorities and infrastructure needs of EMDCs. We encourage further efforts by the Bank to expand steadily its capacity to mobilize resources, foster innovation, expand local currency financing, diversify funding sources, and support impactful projects that advance sustainable development, reduce inequality, and promote infrastructure investments and economic integration. We recognize NDB as a crucial BRICS institution for promoting sustainable development, reducing inequalities, and supporting resilience in emerging economies. We further encourage the NDB to follow the member-led and demand-driven principle, and the ongoing strengthening of its governance framework, which enhance the Bank's institutional resilience and operational effectiveness, to continue executing its purpose and functions in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. We reiterate support for the further expansion of NDB membership and expedited consideration of applications of interested BRICS countries, in line with the NDB General Strategy and its related policies. We express our appreciation to Russia for holding the 11th NDB Annual Meeting in Moscow on the 14-15 May 2026 as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the New Development Bank. We welcome the launch of the BRICS-NDB Knowledge Portal under the Indian Chairship, developed in cooperation with the NDB. The Portal brings together development experiences, best practices, policy innovations and lessons from country programmes and NDB-financed projects across BRICS members. The portal is designed to serve as a repository of the outcomes of BRICS Finance Track workstreams, supporting continuity and knowledge exchange across Chairships. We encourage the further development of the Portal with a view to making it a practical and accessible tool for BRICS countries.

116. While emphasizing the need for continued reform of global economic governance to ensure more effective, equitable and representative participation of developing and emerging economies, we underscore the key role of the G20 as the premier global forum for international economic cooperation that provides a platform for dialogue of both emerging and developed economies on an equal and mutually beneficial footing for jointly seeking shared solutions to global challenges, fostering a multipolar world and ensuring open, non-discriminatory, fair, and inclusive international economic system and value chains. We reaffirm our willingness to work collectively to preserve the legacy of the G20 BRICS states’ consecutive presidencies – Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa – in 2022-2025 and further amplify the voice of the Global South in the global economic governance system so that G20 adequately reflects EMDEs’ rising weight in the global economy and integrates their priorities in its agenda. We salute the strengthening of the EMDEs’ voice in the G20 through the accession of the African Union during India’s Presidency of G20 in 2023 and the invitation to the NDB during the Brazilian and South African presidencies, including through their closer interaction and alignment. We recognize the importance of the continued and productive functioning of the G20, based on its economic mandate, consensus decision making, depoliticized processes, integrity and inadmissibility of arbitrary revision of its membership. In this regard, we underscore the status of South Africa as a G20 founding country and a full-fledged member while emphasizing that any change in membership should be based on consensus of all members and reflect geographical balance and the growing share of the Global South countries in the world output.

117. We reaffirm our commitment to deepen cooperation in the field of competition law and policy among BRICS nations to foster fair, competitive, and resilient market environments across sectors, including critical and emerging areas while respecting each State’s national priorities, laws and regulations. We note the discussion under the theme ‘Strengthening Cooperation to Promote Fair Competition, including in Renewable Energy Markets’, with a view to support sustainable energy transitions. We further encourage continued cooperation among BRICS competition authorities to identify and effectively address emerging competition challenges, with a view to safeguarding contestable and well-functioning markets that support innovation and promote consumer welfare.

118. We acknowledge the cooperation among BRICS National Standards Bodies (NSBs) and welcome the progress for signing of BRICS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Field of Standardization as a milestone in strengthening collaboration, enhancing information exchange, establishing mechanisms for regular dialogue and joint activities, and promoting coordinated engagement in international standardization processes relevant to various sectors. We further welcome initiatives to advance cooperation on emerging areas of standardization and capacity building, including the BRICS Technical Session on Emerging Trends in AI Standardization and the BRICS Knowledge Exchange Session for Capacity Building and BRICS Economic and Trade Forum themed on trade development and standardization cooperation. We encourage continued exchanges among BRICS NSBs on national experiences, best practices and innovative approaches in the development, adoption and implementation of standards, and sharing of technical expertise and resources to strengthen cooperation and institutional capacities across BRICS countries.

119. We reaffirm the importance of strengthening statistical cooperation on policymaking in the evolving data ecosystem. We encourage the continued cooperation in areas of common interest, including the modernization of statistical systems, adoption of innovative methodologies and data sources. We further note the need to compile and periodically update information on national statistical reforms, including the use of administrative and alternative data sources, artificial intelligence and capacity building initiatives, to support knowledge exchange and collaboration among Member Countries. We encourage enhanced knowledge sharing and capacity-building within BRICS. We support the continuation of the annual BRICS Joint Statistical Publication and BRICS Joint Statistical Publication Snapshot as a valuable instrument for transparency, mutual learning, and cooperation among BRICS members.

120. We underscore the pivotal role of intellectual property in underpinning high-quality economic development, encourage the substantial cooperation among the BRICS Intellectual Property (IP) Offices, welcome the update of the Operational Guideline Framework in 2026 to better guide the implementation of cooperation, and to further expand exchanges and collaboration in the areas of IP awareness promotion, capacity building, IP commercialization, patent examination process, traditional knowledge, Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (GIs) and AI application among the BRICS IP Offices on mutually agreed terms. We recognize the importance of collaborating on promoting respect for the intellectual property rights used in the digital environment, including for artificial intelligence training purposes, as well as fair remuneration to right holders, while respecting the needs and priorities of developing countries. With the rise of application of AI, we recognize risks relating to misappropriation and misrepresentation of knowledge, heritage, and cultural values that are insufficiently represented in data sets and AI models.

121. We highlight the important role of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in promoting accountability, transparency, effectiveness, and good governance in public administration. We also acknowledge the evolution of SAIs through complementing financial and compliance auditing with more outcome-oriented, data-driven, and impact-focused approaches. We welcome the continued exchange of knowledge, experience, and good practices among the SAIs of BRICS countries, including cooperation in the auditing of urban mobility systems. Recalling the Bengaluru Declaration adopted at the Fifth BRICS SAIs Heads’ Meeting, we appreciate efforts to enhance the relevance, impact, and credibility of SAIs in contributing to better governance and improving the ease of living for citizens across BRICS countries including through implementation of BRICS SAI’s Work Plan 2027-2028.

Strengthening Cultural & People-to-People Cooperation

122. We reaffirm the importance of BRICS people-to-people exchanges and initiatives in enhancing mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation amongst our nations and peoples. In this regard, we welcome the holding of important engagements such as the Parliamentary Forum, the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, the Business Council, the Business Forum, the Women’s Business Alliance, the Youth Council, the Youth Summit, Meeting of the Deans of Diplomatic Academies, the Think Tank Council, the Academic Forum, the Civil Council and the Civil Forum. We call for more efforts to respect diversity of cultures, highly value inheritance, innovation and creativity, jointly advocate robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation and recall the adoption of the UNGA Resolution A/RES/78/286 entitled “International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations”.

123. We welcome the outcomes of the BRICS Women Ministerial meeting held in Kochi, anchored in the vision of women-led development and women’s all-round development. We recognise women as leaders, decision-makers and drivers of economic growth and social transformation. We affirm that women's participation in governance; their financial and digital inclusion; their capacity building, access to skill development and entrepreneurship opportunities, support to entrepreneurship, access to productive and social services and their crucial role in climate action, food security and nutrition, which are interconnected is key for sustainable development. We recognize the vital role of women in peace building process in accordance with global Women, Peace and Security agenda. We welcome the development of BRICS Women’s Digital Capacity Building Guidelines and take a note of India’s Chairship initiative for creation of a voluntary and non-binding digital repository of best practices. We also recognise the importance of policies that support women’s full participation in economic life, including through appropriate care policies, in accordance with national circumstances.

124. We welcome the outcomes of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting in Bhubaneswar and reaffirm our commitment to strengthening cooperation in education as a key driver of sustainable development, inclusive growth, and people-to-people exchanges. We highly recognize the important role played by the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA) in building a multilateral platform for project cooperation, promoting information exchange, resource sharing, and advancing the joint development of TVET among member states. We look forward to the BRICS-TCA Biennial Progress Report and the BRICS-TCA Compendium of Sustainable Skill Initiatives. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening skill development systems, digital literacy, and enhancing workforce preparedness across BRICS countries, while promoting the alignment of training programmes with evolving market demands and sustainable development priorities through promoting linkage of TVET institutions with industries.

125. We further support continued cooperation through existing BRICS education mechanisms, including the BRICS Network University, and note with appreciation India’s initiative in circulating the BRICS Guiding Principles on strengthening academic collaboration on traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, and encourage the BRICS Network University to consider the possible inclusion of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge systems as an additional International Thematic Group (ITG), in accordance with established governance procedures consistent with the national laws and policies of BRICS countries. We encourage the sharing of best practices, cooperation in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), mutual recognition of qualifications, academic and professional mobility, digital literacy, safe, ethical, human-centred use of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, in education, and stronger institutional partnerships. We also encourage collaborative efforts to improve institutional governance, enhance quality and accessibility in education, and promote exchange and scholarship programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), TVET-industry linkage to foster innovation and expand job opportunities, innovation and knowledge exchange to equip learners and institutions to address future opportunities and challenges. We encourage continued organizing of BRICS Rectors’ Forum and holding discussions of BRICS Education Olympiad and further exploration for the development of the BRICS University Global Ranking and Evaluation System.

126. We encourage strengthening BRICS Labour cooperation in stepping up efforts to protect and improve people’s livelihoods, promoting high-quality, full and productive employment investing in human capital and advancing high-quality population development through sustainable development and inclusive, human-centered labour markets. In this regard, we recognise the transformative role of digital technologies in expanding the outreach of social protection and enhancing inclusiveness and accessibility for workers' welfare, and acknowledge the importance of exploring innovative, nationally tailored policy approaches to increase social protection coverage to workers in the gig and platform economy. We commit to strengthen collaboration in forecasting skills needs by analysing labour market trends in digital, green, care and other priority sectors. We welcome the adoption of BRICS CONNECT (BRICS Cooperation Network for Capacity Building, Employability, and New Skills and Technologies), adding to the existing BRICS VLO (BRICS Virtual Liaison Office) for Social Security Cooperation. We recognise the importance of protecting the rights of workers moving across borders, ensuring portability of benefits, and avoiding double coverage of social security contributions. We reaffirm our collective commitment to building resilient labour markets that are formal, inclusive, responsive, digitally empowered, and future-ready ensuring that no worker is left behind. We note the initiative to establish the “International Digital Platform for Remote Employment” for the BRICS Countries.

127. We welcome the adoption of the Bhopal Declaration at the 11th BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting, reaffirming the important role of culture in fostering people-to-people cooperation and strengthening ties among BRICS countries. We call for the protection of cultural heritage, including in regions affected by conflict, to prevent the destruction and illicit trafficking of cultural property, which is vital for preserving the history and identity of affected communities, as well as on the need to ensure the restitution and repatriation of cultural heritage, antiquities, and objects of spiritual, ancestral, historical and cultural value, to their country of origin. We further encourage cooperation among BRICS countries through exchange of information, documentation and institutional cooperation among museums, archives, libraries and other relevant cultural institutions. We encourage the exchange of information and sharing of best practices in the cultural and creative industries, including in the areas of training and capacity-building for artists and cultural practitioners. We take note of the initiative to create and develop an Artist Registry on a pilot basis for voluntarily participating members. In this regard, we acknowledge initiatives, such as Platform on Cultural and Creative Industries and the Creative Economy, identification and documentation of Traditional Knowledge Systems and Traditional Cultural Expressions. We encourage to explore opportunities for joint multinational nominations under relevant UNESCO Conventions and Programmes on voluntary basis. We encourage further cooperation between BRICS countries including within relevant multilateral fora for the development of cultural industries and resources.

128. We welcome the organisation of BRICS Culture Festival and WAVES Bazaar. We appreciate organisation of the BRICS Theatre Festival and the BRICS Film Festival as important platforms for showcasing the cultural diversity of our nations promoting the circulation of cultural and creative works, and strengthening people-to-people ties. We encourage the expansion of such platforms thereby creating greater opportunities for cultural exchange and collaboration among BRICS countries. We welcome the continued development and strengthening of BRICS Alliances with a view to enriching and broadening cultural exchanges among the peoples of BRICS countries.

129. While recognizing tourism as an important driver of economic growth, employment generation, foreign exchange earnings, inclusive and sustainable development, local livelihoods, economic diversification, heritage preservation, national image building, cultural understanding and people-to-people exchanges, we acknowledge that the BRICS countries have immense potential in the tourism sector and offer significant opportunities for the growth and development of sustainable and resilient tourism, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, including through the promotion of ecotourism. We encourage knowledge exchange on responsible, sustainable and regenerative tourism models. We welcome the initiatives on harnessing Artificial Intelligence and digital tools for smarter, more efficient tourism systems; such as digital payment systems promoting eco-friendly, community-led, sustainable and climate-resilient tourism models; strengthening human capital, training, promotion of investment and institutional capacity across the sector; and facilitating smooth tourism flows. We welcome the Communique of the Tourism Ministers’ Meeting held in Jaipur on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation to promote sustainable, inclusive, smart and resilient tourism development across BRICS nations and to increase international tourism competitiveness. We also support the development and promotion of diverse tourism products among Member States, including historical, cultural, nature-based, gastronomy and health tourism.

130. We emphasize the importance of sport as a vehicle for social development, people-to-people exchanges and promotion of healthy and active societies. We commend the progress of the BRICS Sports Working Group, including the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Field of Physical Culture and Sport. In this regard, we appreciate organisation of the BRICS Games as a platform for cooperation in the field of high-performance sports, sports for all and leisure sports, as well as development of national, traditional, indigenous and non-Olympic sports of BRICS countries to celebrate our shared diversity. We encourage enhanced cooperation for advancing sports among youth and students in popular sports as well as national, traditional and indigenous sports. We encourage BRICS member countries to facilitate the cooperation in sport technology in the form of exchange of good practices, institutional experiences, technical information and research inputs. We welcome the proposal for the BRICS Sports Goods Manufacturing Conclave to promote cooperation in sports goods manufacturing, research and innovation. We also recognize the growing role of technology in enhancing quality of performance, welfare, governance and inclusion in sports and encourage discussions on the formation of the Working Group on Sports Technology. We welcome a dialogue on the BRICS Sports Cooperation Framework and look forward to its further consideration through the established consultation process among Member States in accordance with their established internal procedures.

131. We reaffirm the important role of youth as drivers of resilience, innovation, inclusion and sustainable development. We welcome the discussions at the BRICS Ministerial for Youth Affairs and commend the role of the BRICS Youth Council and the BRICS Youth Summit in strengthening BRICS cooperation and meaningful youth engagements. We encourage further cooperation among the youth of BRICS countries in Education, Training and Skills; Youth Entrepreneurship; Science, Technology and Innovation; Social and Cultural Participation; Social Work and Volunteering; Development; Combating Poverty, Hunger and Inequalities; Health, Youth and Sports; Youth, Environment and Sustainability; Interfaith Youth Dialogue; Youth Exchange; and Youth Inclusion. In this regard, we welcome the progress on the BRICS Youth Cooperation Framework that would enhance BRICS cooperation on common priorities on youth cooperation.

132. We recognise the need to strengthen cooperation in the field of justice and acknowledge the Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Justice, the Meeting of the BRICS Chief Justices and the Meeting of the BRICS Heads of Prosecution Services. We further support greater cooperation in addressing cross border commercial disputes. We acknowledge the importance of efficient and reliable dispute resolution mechanisms for ensuring legal certainty, strengthening investor confidence, and facilitating international trade and investment, and recognise the growing role of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, including mediation and arbitration, as effective complements to formal judicial processes. We encourage BRICS countries to advance ADR as an accessible and people-centric mechanism, and support capacity-building initiatives for relevant stakeholders across member countries.

133. We look forward to the convening of the XII BRICS Parliamentary Forum in October 2026, including the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians and the Meeting of International Affairs Committee Chairpersons towards strengthening exchanges and cooperation among our parliaments. We emphasize the importance of these engagements as useful platforms to enhance mutual understanding and trust among nations, drive innovation and strengthen institutional resilience towards building an inclusive, sustainable and equitable future for all.

134. We welcome convening of the BRICS Business Forum 2026 that facilitated direct business to business engagements among BRICS members. We further welcome initiatives such as the BRICS Solutions Awards 2026 and the BRICS Women’s Start-up Awards 2026 that encouraged innovative, scalable and impactful solutions in achieving sustainable development, technological advancement and inclusive growth in BRICS.

135. We commend the continued efforts of the BRICS Business Council towards strengthening economic cooperation among BRICS countries and welcome the BRICS Business Council’s Annual Report and its policy recommendations aimed at enhancing trade and investment and resilient supply chains, including through greater business engagements among BRICS members. We further welcome the launch of the Sustainable Development Network.

136. We commend the important role of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance (WBA) in promoting women’s entrepreneurship, leadership and economic participation across BRICS countries. We welcome the recommendations in the Annual Report of the Women’s Business Alliance that aims at improving access to finance, markets, technology, skills development and digital opportunities for women-led enterprises. We note the strong engagement achieved to date across BRICS countries in the WBA’s 2026 programmes. We encourage BRICS National Chapters to continue strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on women’s economic participation, including through knowledge-sharing and joint initiatives.

137. We acknowledge the outcomes of the Meetings of the BRICS Think Tank Council, BRICS Civil Council, BRICS Academic Forum and BRICS Civil Forum and progress made towards strengthening dialogue and exchange among academic communities and civil society organisations.

138. We note that the BRICS expansion reflects its influence, credibility, and appeal as an important platform for inclusive global governance. We underscore the need for outcome oriented enhanced coordination, continuity and support for a long-term institutional development. We reaffirm that institutional development is a continuous and dynamic process that should reflect the needs and priorities of BRICS countries. In this regard, we welcome the progress on the establishment of BRICS Online Archival Database and look forward to further discussions for its early operationalisation as well as considering Chair's initiative of MoU stocktaking exercise contributing to strengthening institutional development.

139. We commend India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026 and express our gratitude to the government and people of India for holding the XVIII BRICS Summit in the city of New Delhi.

140. We extend full support to China for its BRICS Chairship in 2027 and the holding of the XIX BRICS Summit in China.

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

13 September, 2026

English Translation of Prime Minister’s Opening Remarks during the 18th BRICS Summit Session: “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth” (September 13, 2026)

Your Highness,

Excellencies,

Namaskar!

I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the extended family of BRICS.

Today, this hall brings together continents, cultures, and diverse development journeys. It is a testament to the growing strength, appeal, and unprecedented trust in BRICS.

Friends,

Under India’s Presidency, we have focused all our efforts on these four pillars: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability. I am pleased that, with all your cooperation and support, we have been able to translate our shared vision into win-win cooperation.

Today, the number of conflicts and tensions in the world is continuously increasing, and this is having an increasingly negative and far-reaching impact on the lives of ordinary people.

Pandemics, climate disasters, and supply-chain disruptions have shown that in today’s interconnected world, no crisis remains confined to a single region. Therefore, within the BRICS group, we have placed special emphasis on strengthening Resilience. It is equally important to identify challenges in time, be prepared for them, and take prompt action.

With this approach, we have agreed on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention of and response to infectious diseases. Early Warning Data Integration Guidelines have been prepared for disaster management. The BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework will help make our supply chains more reliable and resilient.

Friends,

Under Innovation, the BRICS Incubator Network will connect our start-ups and incubators with one another. To promote innovative and scalable solutions, we have proposed the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund.

The BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture will create new opportunities for farmers. Through this initiative, AI, geospatial technology, and Digital Public Infrastructure will be connected to the real needs of farmers.

The weaponization of technology and critical minerals can hinder our shared progress. Therefore, we have emphasised inclusivity in the adoption of technology.

Friends,

India has advanced friendship, partnership, and cooperation through the BRICS platform.

Our endeavour has been to ensure that BRICS cooperation does not remain limited to governments alone. We have sought to make our entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth, and ordinary citizens active participants in it.

Through BRICS CONNECT, we have promoted skills, employability, women in the workforce, social security, and capacity building.

To connect small enterprises with knowledge, finance, and new markets, we have initiated the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal.

The BRICS Urban Mobility Hub has been established to facilitate the sharing of best practices among our cities.

Friends,

In Indian civilisation, nature has been accorded the status of a mother. For centuries, we have believed that development and the environment are not alternatives to each other, but are complementary. Within BRICS as well, we have emphasised the need to strike a balance between human development and the environment.

This is the foundation of Sustainability. It is also our responsibility towards future generations. In this direction, we have made progress on several fronts.

For Smart Grids and Energy Storage, we have established the BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence. This will help make our clean energy systems more reliable, efficient, and accessible.

The Centres of Excellence for Agro-Ecology and Regenerative Agriculture will connect traditional knowledge with modern science. The principles developed for community-based climate adaptation will make indigenous knowledge an important foundation for climate action.

Friends,

Building on these four pillars, through BRICS we have sought to promote inclusive global growth. We believe that the benefits of solutions developed within BRICS should not remain confined to BRICS alone. They should be made adaptable and accessible to meet the needs of the Global South.

Friends,

From my personal experience, I can say that the Global South countries’ confidence in BRICS has grown, because within BRICS:

Their voices are heard.
Their experiences are respected.
And solutions are developed not for them, but together with them.

The strength of BRICS lies in our diversity and cooperation.

We may be rooted in different realities, but together, we rise through cooperation, and blossom for humanity.

May our diversity remain our identity, our cooperation become our inspiration, and our progress serve the cause of all humanity.

Thank you very much.

New Delhi
September 13, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today met with the UN Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. António Guterres, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

2. UNSG Guterres congratulated PM Modi for India’s chairship of the BRICS for the fourth time. Both leaders underscored the significance of multipolarity and the need to reform multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council, to reflect contemporary realities.

3. They also held discussions on various issues, including ongoing conflicts and freedom of navigation, sustainable development, human-centric AI, progress in renewable energy, and global food security.

4. PM Modi wished UNSG Guterres the very best for the remainder of his tenure.

New Delhi
September 11, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister meets with the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met today with H.E. Mr. Le Minh Hung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

2. Prime Minister Modi welcomed Vietnam’s participation in the BRICS Summit as Partner Country. The meeting provided an opportunity for both leaders to review the progress made in bilateral ties, which were elevated to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the State Visit of H.E. Mr. To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to India in May 2026. Both leaders also exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual importance, and reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthening their partnership.

3. India and Vietnam share a time-tested friendship rooted in shared civilizational heritage, mutual trust and understanding. Vietnam is a key pillar of India's Act East Policy and an important partner in India's broader engagement with Southeast Asia.

New Delhi
September 12, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

12 September, 2026

Prime Minister meets with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a meeting with His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed on 12 September, 2026 on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit.

2. The two leaders reiterated the significance of the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is built on strong political, cultural, commercial, energy, and people-to-people relations. They recalled the recent successful visits by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE to India in January 2026, and that of Prime Minister to the UAE in May 2026.

3. Prime Minister appreciated UAE’s active and constructive participation in BRICS under India’s Chairship. The leaders welcomed the positive outcomes within BRICS during India’s Chairship and agreed that the two countries would continue to work closely through the platform to advance shared interests and priorities and further strengthen BRICS cooperation.

4. The leaders acknowledged the progress achieved in bilateral relations in a wide range of sectors. They positively noted the announcement by UAE’s International Holding Company’s to invest in the development of a USD 11.5 billion integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha, India’s largest integrated aluminium investment. The project is expected to position Odisha as a global aluminium manufacturing hub.

5. The leaders acknowledged the important role that L’Imad, as the UAE’s newest sovereign investment fund, could play in further deepening the India-UAE partnership for mutual benefit. They also discussed opportunities to enhance cooperation between the two countries in strategic and emerging areas, including defence, space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation.

6. The visit reaffirmed the tradition of regular leadership-level engagement and the generational continuity that underpins the enduring relationship between India and the UAE.

New Delhi
September 12, 2026

India
Source: www.mea.gov.in

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today met with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. This was the second meeting between the two leaders in under two weeks. They had met earlier on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek on 31 August.

2. The two leaders discussed various aspects of the bilateral relationship. Prime Minister thanked Iran for its regular, high-level participation in BRICS-related meetings despite the challenging circumstances. He noted the potential for BRICS in building the spirit of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability among countries in the Global South. He also thanked President Pezeshkian for his participation in the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum.

3. The two leaders exchanged views on recent developments in West Asia. Prime Minister reiterated India’s consistent position that all issues must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. He also underscored the need for continued efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region, safeguarding freedom of navigation and commerce, and the safety and well-being of seafarers.
4. Prime Minister appreciated the continued cooperation between the two sides on issues of mutual interest in multilateral organizations, including BRICS.

New Delhi
September 11, 2026

USA
Source: www.reuters.com

• Summary
• Declaration calls for protection of civilians, trade
• Iran and UAE hold highest-level meeting since war
• Modi said BRICS has come of age
• China's Xi urges BRICS to take on peacemaking role

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Iran and the United Arab Emirates signed up to a joint statement from the BRICS group of ​nations that called for restraint in the Middle East war on Saturday, in what was seen as a sign of diplomatic progress between the countries divided by ‌the war.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the first day of the New Delhi summit, in the countries' highest-level meeting since the start of the conflict.

The two leaders discussed regional and international issues, de-escalation, stability, and efforts to advance regional peace and development, the Abu Dhabi media office said on X, without referring to any resolution to the discussions.

The BRICS summit is a ​test of the diplomatic clout of a bloc set up in 2009 to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies. It originally comprised Brazil, ​Russia, India, China and South Africa and expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia as well as Iran and the UAE.

Summit organisers and diplomats ⁠have been focused on bridging the Iran-UAE divide, even as the United States and Iran resume tit-for-tat strikes in the six-month-old war.

Iran has launched repeated attacks on the UAE during the ​conflict, most recently in late August when it targeted the Al Minhad Air Base that housed U.S. forces and helicopters.

"We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/West ​Asia ... call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation," the joint BRICS declaration read.

It called for the protection of civilians, urged respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and stressed the need to protect global trade, supply chains, energy flows and maritime security.

SUMMIT HAS KEPT 'DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS GOING'

Foreign policy experts had said the key test for the bloc would be finding language ​on the Middle East crisis that both Abu Dhabi and Tehran could accept, clearing the way for the joint declaration.
Such a joint statement was unlikely to influence the current geopolitical ​landscape, but would demonstrate unity by a grouping of emerging nations, they said.

The Iranian embassy in India posted a photo of the meeting between its president and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed ‌bin Zayed ⁠Al Nahyan, the eldest son of the president of the country and the next in line to succeed him.

But it did not say anything about what they discussed.

"The key to ending the war lies with the U.S. and Israel," Sunjay Sudhir, a former Indian ambassador to the UAE, told Reuters.

"What India has done is keep the difficult conversations going, by showing that countries of the region can sit at the same table, engage diplomatically, and build on where their interests converge."

BRICS BLOC HAS COME OF AGE, SAYS MODI

Host India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ​that the bloc had come of age and ​it was time to translate its unity ⁠and consensus into concrete results on the global stage, as he opened the meeting.
The BRICS bloc is seeking to raise its profile by influencing international rules and demanding the reform of institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, which some members ​view as being dominated by Western powers.

Leaders attending the summit include Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.

Chinese ​President Xi said BRICS ⁠countries should firmly stand on the right side of history by steering the international order toward greater equity and justice.

Xi also said China was ready to play its "due role" in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East.
"Relevant parties must remain committed to a political settlement and work towards achieving a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire," he said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
New Delhi, which has strong ⁠ties with the ​United States, Russia, Israel, Iran and the Gulf Arab states, is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act, with ​Modi pushing BRICS members to boost trade cooperation, reduce barriers and expand business opportunities.

Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh, Shivangi Acharya, Saurabh Sharma, Sunil Kataria, Nikunj ​Ohri, Aftab Ahmed, Sakshi Dayal, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Hritam Mukherjee, Muhammad Al Gebaly, Yasmine Ghania, Lee Liz and Liam Mo; Writing by YP Rajesh; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jacqueline Wong and Andrew Heavens

Russia
Source: valdaiclub.com

In a fragmented world order marked by polycrisis, BRICS faces a litmus test in consolidating its expanded membership, avoiding bloc confrontation and building consensus on the most pressing issues. Operating under the theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, India’s 2026 BRICS presidency can shape the future of the grouping as a definitive platform for the developing world.

Geopolitical confrontation and the erosion of trust in existing institutions of global governance have disproportionately affected emerging markets and developing countries worldwide. The expanding arc of regional conflicts, most prominently in West Asia between Iran and the United States-Israel, has accelerated food, energy, and climate crises globally. Disregard for global diplomacy, the declining role of the United Nations in peace-making, and the unilateral use of unfair trade practices, such as sanctions and tariffs, undermine the ideals of a fair and just multipolar world. In an era of global multipolarity, BRICS has emerged as an important platform for global dialogue and a voice of the Global South. However, it faces a growing geopolitical dilemma due to internal drift among members amid a rising wave of regional conflicts worldwide.

India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency comes at a time when the intergovernmental group is entering its twentieth year. It has expanded from ‘BRICS’ to ‘BRICS Plus’ to signify a broader membership base, which now includes eleven full members and ten partner countries. These members come from a diverse array of regions, including Europe, South America, South Asia, East Asia, West Asia, and Africa. Correspondingly, the BRICS agenda has expanded significantly during the last seventeen summits. From an initial focus on the reform of the international financial system, BRICS’ agenda now includes food and energy security, infrastructure and connectivity, political and security cooperation, public health and digital governance, and innovation and sustainability cooperation, as well as several other issues.

BRICS’ expansion, however, is fuelling a crisis in consensus-building and agenda-setting within the bloc. Divergent geopolitical alignments among members have been a feature of BRICS since its inception but have become more acute with membership expansion and intensifying geopolitical conflicts worldwide. This includes India’s border dispute with China, tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia over Nile River water sharing, and growing hostilities between Iran and the UAE and invited to BRICS Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing US-Iran war. In a sign of mounting internal friction, the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting held on May 14-15 in New Delhi ended without a joint declaration due to deep internal divisions over the conflict in West Asia. As per reports, Iran pressed for an ‘explicit condemnation’ of the violation of its sovereignty by the US and Israel, while the UAE pressed for the cessation of attacks on commercial maritime vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

India’s 2026 BRICS presidency faces the challenge of coordinating BRICS activities and balancing divergent internal interests in order to present a united front. As a run-up to the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13, 2026, New Delhi has hosted ministerial dialogues among BRICS health, foreign, and energy ministers, among several other important meetings. India’s presidency focuses on key areas including advancing digital public infrastructure, promoting the clean energy transition, expanding sustainable development finance through alternative frameworks, local currency settlements, and supporting global governance reforms. For Delhi, BRICS offers strategic value: India may engage with Russia and China without formal alliances, strengthening the country’s image as a voice of the developing world. Overall, India’s approach to BRICS is guided by its principle of strategic autonomy, as the country promotes UN-centred inclusive multilateralism rather than competitive multilateralism.

Divergences in Geopolitical Challenges

The rising likelihood of internal bilateral differences among member states has prompted India to promote intra-BRICS cooperation and resilience as a central pillar of the BRICS framework. This comes amid external geopolitical heat from the US on BRICS members to limit cooperation with Russia and China. There is additional pressure on members to comply with non-UN-designated sanctions against Russia and Iran, particularly US sanctions and tariffs on entities importing Russian and Iranian energy products. As global supply chains rupture and countries rush to secure critical energy supplies, geoeconomic coercion adds a new layer of complexity to BRICS cooperation. BRICS members’ varying levels of relations with the US serve as a case in point in explaining BRICS’ failure to take a united stand on geopolitical issues. For instance, the UAE and invited to BRICS Saudi Arabia rely heavily on the US for their security needs, whereas members like India, Brazil, and Indonesia enjoy generally strong relations with the West.

In contrast, members like Russia, China and Iran are either in direct or indirect confrontation with the US, and refuse to comply with unilateral sanctions. BRICS members have so far resisted such pressures, but their approaches differ, and there has not been any noteworthy opposition from BRICS as a bloc. However, there is a silver lining here, as repeated threats from US President Donald Trump against BRICS members for trying to undermine the primacy of the US dollar in international trade have met with a strong response from members, particularly Brazil and South Africa, and, to a lesser extent, India.

Internal contradictions and external pressure thus combine to pose geopolitical and geoeconomic dilemmas before BRICS members and weaken the spirit of consensus-based decision-making. Others view the divergent geopolitical stance of BRICS members in a fragmented world as a sign of the growing divide between “anti-West” and “non-West” factions within BRICS. This comes despite broad acceptance among BRICS members of the urgent need to reform the UN system, particularly the Security Council, and the need for proportional representation in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. India has been particularly clear about avoiding such a framing of BRICS and instead views the platform as one among the several important global platforms required for dialogue and reform.

How this Dilemma Effectively Addressed?

To overcome recurrent challenges to intra-BRICS cooperation, it will be necessary to prioritise the developmental needs of developing countries and emerging markets, which today broadly constitute the Global South. Since 2003, trade between BRICS countries has grown rapidly. With the latest round of expansion, BRICS Plus now represents around half of the global population and roughly forty percent of the world's GDP. Its members include several of the erstwhile leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement, such as India, Indonesia, and Egypt, each with a strong legacy of peaceful diplomatic relations and a non-partisan, non-confrontational foreign policy. This comes against the backdrop of the growing normative agency of the Global South within BRICS, with the original big three members, “India, China and Russia,” prioritising the Global South in BRICS activities and in summit declarations. While India and China both claim leadership of the Global South, Russia has also decisively promoted the cause of the Global South by organising a high-level outreach summit, “BRICS and the Global South”, during the Sixteenth BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia.

Moreover, despite sharp internal polarisation, BRICS has shown considerable resilience over time. Recently, India and China moved to normalise relations by stabilising undefined parts of their border, and BRICS members like Russia played the role of bridge-builder between the two. However, new members like Indonesia could play the role of peacemakers and consensus-builders within BRICS. As ASEAN’s largest economy and Southeast Asia’s first country to join BRICS, Indonesia is placed strategically within the grouping. It enjoys strong relations with major BRICS members such as India, China, and Russia and has considerable development experience. Its ability to manage diversity at home and in the region fits well with the BRICS values of ‘mutual respect, sovereign equality, openness and collaboration.’ It also provides an important link between BRICS and ASEAN and aligns with efforts to promote BRICS cooperation with similar groupings focused on “non-hegemonic, developmental and sovereign” principles of multilateralism.

As BRICS expands amid a fragmented world order and an unbalanced multipolarity, it faces the challenge of building consensus and withstanding the divergent geopolitical choices of its disparate members. It will concurrently face several pressing geopolitical dilemmas and unilateral impulses prevalent in the international system. It could, however, work toward its goal of a just, equitable and democratic world order and comprehensive reform of the UN system by prioritising Global South solidarity and promoting BRICS values and the principles enshrined in its various declarations. Deeper vertical institutionalisation, through a permanent secretariat to manage the needs of a growing member base, must be explored seriously.

India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency will thus be a crucible of its effectiveness and resilience as a global platform, particularly for the developing world. As BRICS chair this year, India has an opportunity to steer the group toward pragmatic, outcome-oriented collaboration. By prioritising tangible initiatives, such as strengthening intra-group trade partnerships, securing global supply chains, establishing AI governance guidelines, expanding interoperable digital payment networks, and enhancing regional health security and infrastructure, BRICS can shift its emphasis from ideological positioning to concrete operational delivery.

Russia
Source: valdaiclub.com

The Crisis Within BRICS Will Be Resolved Through ‘More BRICS’ - Pursued Autonomously, Gradually, and Patiently

The strikes launched by Israel and the United States against Iran, coupled with the Iranian retaliation against the Gulf states, have had a profound impact on BRICS. Certain analysts have rightly identified the emergence of a BRICS crisis. Specifically, this is driven by the exchange of hostilities between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE); more broadly, it stems from the group's inability to resolve this friction. Within this context, India's presidency of BRICS plays a pivotal role in attempting to normalise relations within the bloc. The critical question remains: is India prepared to rise to this challenge?

In the immediate term, the preeminent crisis confronting BRICS lies in the relationship between the UAE and Iran. According to diplomats close to the negotiations, the increasingly exasperated exchange of mutual accusations between the two nations is paralysing progress on the BRICS agenda during sherpa meetings. For the first time in the group's history, there is a tangible possibility that the upcoming summit in September will fail to produce a final joint declaration. Should a declaration materialise, all indications suggest it will be highly generic and superficial, avoiding the controversial issues that were openly addressed in the previous year's Rio de Janeiro declaration.
Many observers point to the 2023 expansion of membership as the primary catalyst for the current impasse. This, however, appears to be a superficial reading of events. The root of the problem does not lie in the expansion of the group per se, but rather in how both long-standing and newly admitted members have been managing their alliances outside of the bloc.

The original “BRICS-5’ consolidated its strength through the convergence of two core pillars: the defence of multipolarity and the pursuit of development. While the emphasis placed on these two dimensions varied among member states over time, it ultimately crystallised into China and Russia championing multipolarity, while Brazil, South Africa, and India prioritised development through the diversification of their partnerships. Because these latter nations also seek partnerships within the Collective West, BRICS members typically characterise the group as “non-Western” rather than “anti-Western”. Consequently, some analysts have labelled these states as “swingers”­—a characterisation that seems exaggerated. Until recently, partnerships with Western nations remained flexible and did not threaten fundamental BRICS values. It was entirely feasible, for instance, in 2012 for Brazil to reaffirm its role within BRICS while simultaneously seeking to strengthen its bilateral ties with the United States.

In recent years, however, the character of the alliances that certain BRICS members maintain with external states has fundamentally shifted. The most critical cases for understanding the current crisis involve the UAE and India. The UAE was the first Gulf State to sign the Abraham Accords, brokered under US supervision in 2020. The normalisation of relations between the Gulf monarchies and Israel served the strategic American objective of politically and militarily isolating Iran. To this end, the United States authorised the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the Emirates, and the Kingdom initiated deep cooperation with Israel, culminating in bilateral trade exceeding $14 billion by 2026. As is frequently the case in relations with Washington, the F-35 acquisition was subsequently frozen due to American demands for technological safeguards, prompted by growing suspicion over military ties between the UAE and China. Nonetheless, in the recent war, the UAE-Israel relationship has strengthened further. During the conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu dispatched military personnel to the UAE to operate an Iron Dome anti-aircraft battery, shielding the kingdom from Iranian strikes. This alliance emboldened the UAE to launch covert military retaliations against Iran, according to US media reports, bringing the escalation dangerously close to spinning out of control. The current deadlock in BRICS political negotiations is a direct and obvious consequence of this geopolitical backdrop.

India, which holds the group's presidency in 2026, is positioned to play a key role in defusing this dispute. However, New Delhi's foreign policy of multi-alignment appears to have reached its structural limits. For years, India has invested in diplomatic alliances designed to bolster its stance in regional disputes and project its status as a major future global power. Civil nuclear cooperation with the US and active participation in the Quad are long-standing examples—preceding the current administration—of Indian assertiveness in managing regional rivals Pakistan and China. This did not prevent India from cultivating deep ties with the nations of the “World Majority”, where BRICS offers a vital channel for tangible gains when traditional multilateral institutions are paralysed. Yet, of late, India's alliances are consolidating into highly ambitious commitments that restrict its strategic autonomy.

In 2023, the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)—announced during India's G20 presidency and financed by the G7 —linked India, the UAE, and Israel in a single landmark initiative. In early 2026, India formally acceded to the US-led Pax Silica, an initiative that also counts on the enthusiastic participation of both the Emirates and Israel. The convergence of the Quad and the Pax Silica was formalised in New Delhi in May 2026 with the adoption of the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework, which projects the mobilisation of $20 billion for joint ventures. This framework secures the supply chains of raw materials vital for semiconductor and artificial intelligence production, which are controlled by the US via its Pax Silica paradigm.

The overlap of these strategic initiatives serves to solidify the trilateral India-UAE-Israel axis. In retrospect, this alignment explains, among other factors, India's enthusiastic support for the UAE's admission into BRICS in 2023. It likewise sheds light on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-risk visit to Netanyahu in February 2026, occurring a mere two days prior to the outbreak of hostilities against Iran.

Under normal geopolitical conditions, the partnerships of the UAE and India with the Collective West would not have disrupted the internal cohesion of BRICS. However, we are witnessing the twilight of the “rules-based order”. Systematic efforts by the United States to dismantle liberal multilateralism are turning the legitimate, pragmatic alignments of these two nations into binding moral commitments to the hegemon—alliances that are increasingly difficult to reconcile with BRICS principles. To put it bluntly: American assertiveness and the emergence of associated neocolonial practices are forcing traditionally pragmatic nations to choose sides. This is an uncomfortable position that provokes domestic criticism within each administration, and threatens the domestic legitimacy of decision-makers. Yet, this is precisely the core of US strategy. The weaponisation of sanctions, tariff barriers, the prolonged conflict in Ukraine, and recurrent aggressions against Iran serve exactly this purpose: to force the consolidation of alliances around the US neocolonial project and isolate potential challengers, notably China, Russia, and Iran.

To reclaim their strategic manoeuvrability and balance their relations with the West, the optimal alternative for both India and the UAE is to double down on their commitment to BRICS. The bloc can serve as the most effective platform—free from Western arbitrariness—for India to articulate its legitimate concerns regarding China’s regional projection via the Belt and Road Initiative. Similarly, the UAE can leverage the diplomatic influence of China and Russia, Iran's primary economic and geopolitical partners, to help de-escalate tensions with the Persian nation.

As an alternative to the economic incentives offered by the West, India and the UAE could strengthen their cooperation with BRICS nations in sectors where Western partnerships appear most attractive. In this regard, given that BRICS countries hold 85% of the world's rare earth elements, a joint BRICS initiative could mobilise Chinese and Emirati capital for the collaborative development and local processing of these critical materials, without the restrictive exclusivity regimes characteristic of the aforementioned US proposals. Beyond fostering technological cooperation and delivering substantial economic benefits, such an initiative would reinforce other BRICS endeavours, ultimately building long-term mutual trust among its members. Consequently, gradualism and patience represent the most viable strategies for navigating the current crisis.

Russia
Source: valdaiclub.com

On September 12-13, 2026, India will host the BRICS summit as the current chair. However, New Delhi will be dealing with a “structurally imbalanced” bloc, albeit one with a promising sustainability agenda.

The official website for BRICS 2026 defines the sustainability pillar as “accelerating collective efforts toward climate action, green finance, energy transitions, and sustainable development aligned with national and global priorities.” Although this clarifies the mandate, a visible tilt towards Beijing in terms of the geopolitics and economics within BRICS highlights an uneasy fact.

Obviously then, the bloc is left with little heft without China in global sustainability dynamics, particularly in terms of critical minerals and large-scale green financing. Yet these facts also present a strategic opportunity for India.

India’s presidency has the potential to leverage existing alliances, raise green finance through the New Development Bank (NDB), and create a knowledge-sharing ecosystem for the entire Global South. And BRICS can continue its journey under India’s presidency towards pragmatic and non-binding cooperation.

Solving the China Puzzle through Pragmatic Cooperation

BRICS was originally never meant to be a treaty-based organisation capable of entering into binding agreements, like free trade agreements. Historically, the formation is firmly based on political coordination, normative convergence, and project-level collaboration.

Nevertheless, China's dominance in manufacturing, finance, and critical mineral supply chains also ensures that no “BRICS sustainability” initiative is possible without Beijing. But there is another historical fact: China has yet to show any interest in a philanthropic leadership role within the bloc.

Therefore, New Delhi has an opportunity to initiate a strategic opening. Any direct attempt to counterbalance China is unlikely to succeed. Rather, India can focus on areas where other BRICS members have complementary strengths and bloc cooperation does not revolve around Beijing.

Energy transitions, biofuels, solar deployment, and green finance are those areas where the presidency can redefine sustainability, not as a zero-sum contest for leadership but as a collaborative effort based on each member’s comparative advantage.

Solar, Biofuels Energy Alliances and Beyond

If one promising aspect of BRICS sustainability must be chosen, then it should be energy cooperation. Working on existing initiatives, such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), has strong potential for the future scaling up of collaboration.

India and France co-founded the ISA in 2015. The alliance plans to raise more than US$1 trillion in solar investments by 2030 for over 120 members. The sustainability pillar of BRICS aligns nicely with its mission to promote innovation, lower financing and technological costs, and deploy solar on a global scale.

A “BRICS Solar Corridor” proposal under the ISA umbrella, which focuses on cooperative procurement, technology transfer, and capacity-building for solar-rich but capital-starved member nations including South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia, might be India's contribution.

India's 2023 G20 chairmanship launched the GBA, with Brazil and the United States as co-founders. The cornerstones of this biofuel collaboration are Brazil's proficiency in sugarcane ethanol and India's developments in ethanol blending and second-generation biofuels.

India could propose a BRICS Biofuel Task Force, facilitating joint research and development (R&D) on sustainable aviation fuels, waste-to-energy technologies, and crop-residue management. That task force can promote knowledge and technology exchange across the Global South.

Importantly, none of these initiatives requires China to be excluded. Beijing's voluntary participation should be sought in all, avoiding any risk of division within the bloc while still advancing tangible outcomes.

New Development Bank: The Green Finance Engine

The NDB, created in 2016, has approved US$42.9 billion for 139 projects to date, with sizeable allocations in renewable energy, transport, water, and sanitation. The project portfolio includes wastewater treatment plants in China and South Africa, metro rail systems in India, and clean energy projects in Brazil. Financed projects must meet sustainability criteria under the bank’s “Environmental and Social Framework”.

The NDB, under India's presidency, can reposition itself as the primary vehicle for BRICS green finance. Scaling up financing for renewable energy, which essentially means increasing loans for solar, wind, and hybrid energy projects, may be one of the redrawn priorities, especially in current and future African BRICS+ member nations.

Local currency lending could be another priority area, reducing dependence on the dollar and euro, as China and South Africa have already started doing. Blended finance mechanisms, developed in partnership with multilateral climate funds to de-risk private investment in green infrastructure, could help unlock private capital.

Battery recycling and critical mineral processing are also important priorities. The NDB could create new funding facilities that add value to raw mineral exports from Africa and Latin America, supporting just energy transitions in the next stage.

A Russia-India-Africa Trilateral Group for Critical Minerals

There are some tricky areas when it comes to BRICS sustainability; critical minerals are among them. Any “BRICS critical mineral alliance” is ineffective without China’s participation, as the country dominates the global processing capacity for lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. However, India and Russia are already in the process of a bilateral understanding on rare earths and lithium, covering exploration, processing, and technology cooperation.

This India-Russia cooperation could, in its next stage, expand into a trilateral mechanism with African BRICS+ members (South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia) with substantial critical mineral reserves. India's diplomatic goodwill and development partnerships in Africa, along with Russia's technological expertise in mining and metallurgy, could forge an alternative supply chain for battery materials and hydrogen technology.

Does such an arrangement attempt to replace Chinese supply chains? No, rather it would diversify them, offering African nations greater bargaining power and value-added opportunities. The NDB comes into the picture in financing processing plants and recycling facilities, while the ISA and GBA provide demand-side momentum through renewable energy and biofuel deployment.

Green Economy Framework and Knowledge Sharing within BRICS

Moving beyond finance and supply chains, BRICS has the ability to catalyse sustainability through knowledge sharing. The BRICS Platform for Environmentally Sound Technologies (BEST), established in 2018, already facilitates technology exchange on air quality, water resources, and waste management. India can add a “BRICS Green Economy Framework” to BEST, institutionalising best practices.

The BRICS Green Economy Framework could include green bonds and climate-smart agriculture, carbon accounting principles that prevent fragmented national strategies, resilient port infrastructure that absorbs climate shocks, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards for public and private projects.

Consistent with the overall BRICS philosophy, this framework would not impose binding obligations, but it could certainly lead to common standards and a set of tools for member countries to align their national policies. It would be a bridge between BRICS and other Global South initiatives, like the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the Small Island Developing States Resilience Initiative.

A People-Centric and Pragmatic Vision of Sustainability

India's 2026 BRICS theme—“Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”—punctuates sustainability with a “Humanity First” approach. Rather than just presenting rhetoric, it can evolve into a strategic choice that recognises the limits of BRICS as a bloc while maximising its potential as a platform for collective action.

India can lead BRICS towards a practical and significant sustainable development goal by mobilising the NDB for green finance, utilising the ISA and GBA, creating a Russia-India-Africa critical minerals axis, and institutionalising knowledge exchange through a Green Economy Framework.

Instead of competing with China, the goal should be to complement its supply chains by establishing a multipolar, sustainable BRICS ecosystem in which each participant plays to its strengths and the Global South gains from shared innovation, accessible finance, and diverse supply chains.

Under India's leadership, BRICS can show that sustainability is a global need that calls for collaboration, ingenuity, and an unwavering dedication to the common good rather than a zero-sum game in a world increasingly divided by geopolitical rivalry.

China
Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn

On the afternoon of September 12 local time, President Xi Jinping attended Session I of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.

The session was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the UAE’s Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohamed and Brazilian Foreign Minister, among others, and chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

President Xi Jinping delivered an important statement titled “Jointly Shouldering the Responsibility of the Times and Striving to Be a Pioneering Force.”

President Xi pointed out that this year marks the 20th anniversary of BRICS cooperation. Over the past two decades, BRICS has been growing with strong vigor and vitality, and become the most influential cooperation platform in today’s world for emerging markets and developing countries. These are 20 years of self-reliance and self-strengthening. BRICS countries have actively explored development paths suited to our respective national conditions, and set a fine example of emerging markets and developing countries seeking strength through unity. These are 20 years of standing together through wind and rain. Hand in hand BRICS countries tackled the global financial crisis, COVID pandemic, climate change and other challenges, and we resolutely defended the common interests of the Global South, providing the world with stability and positive energy. These are 20 years of fruitful outcomes. BRICS has realized a historic expansion, and now has a comprehensive, multifaceted cooperation structure. It has entered a new stage of high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation.

President Xi stressed that, today, changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The Global South is gaining strength, and the trend toward a multipolar world is unstoppable. At the same time, unilateralism and power politics are surging against the tide, lashing at multilateralism and the international order. The deficits in peace, development, security and governance keep growing. BRICS must stand firmly on the right side of history, strive to be a pioneer of our times, steer the international order in a direction that is more just and equitable, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

First, BRICS should be a pioneer in advancing innovation-driven development. BRICS countries must keep the initiative firmly in their hands, strengthen cooperation in the field of AI, encourage open source, openness, collaboration and sharing, and break new ground and scale new heights in our practical cooperation. BRICS countries are welcome to actively participate in the World AI Cooperation Organization. China proposes the BRICS initiative of AI-empowered new industrialization, and hopes to work with all parties for more outcomes in R&D and application and deeper cooperation in industrial and supply chains.

Second, BRICS should be a pioneer in upholding peace and stability. We should act on the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, and oppose violation of other countries’ sovereignty or interference in other countries’ internal affairs. We should participate constructively in the settlement of hotspot issues, and make BRICS’ unique contribution to addressing both the symptoms and root causes. China will work with fellow BRICS members to play a due role in bringing peace and tranquility to the Middle East.
Third, BRICS should be a pioneer in facilitating mutual learning between civilizations. We should promote the common values of humanity, and advocate exchange, mutual learning and harmonious coexistence between civilizations. We should hold the BRICS People-to-People Exchange Forum to share experience on national governance and build up positive energy for stable state-to-state relations. We should deepen cooperation in culture, tourism and education, step up exchanges between our youths, and facilitate mutual visits between the people to increase mutual understanding and amity.

Fourth, BRICS should be a pioneer in reforming and improving global governance. BRICS should align with the trend toward greater democracy in international relations, work toward a more just and equitable global governance system, and uphold the authority of the U.N. We should support the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and reject all forms of protectionist measures. We should steer global governance in frontier domains such as cyberspace, outer space and deep sea, and increase the voice of Global South countries.

President Xi stressed that during our arduous journey of 20 years, solidarity and cooperation have always been the source of strength for the cause of BRICS. We should continue treating each other with candor and sincerity, and seeking common ground while shelving differences. We should respect each other’s core concerns, and commit ourselves to communication and dialogue to increase mutual understanding and properly handle disagreements, so that BRICS cooperation will continue to advance steadily. China will take over the BRICS chairship next year, and host the 19th BRICS Summit. The Chinese side will seize the opportunity to build consensus and work with all parties to plan for the future. Together, we will usher in the third golden decade of BRICS cooperation, and open up a bright prospect of shared prosperity and progress.

Leaders of the participating countries had an in-depth exchange of views on BRICS cooperation and international and regional issues.

All parties spoke highly of the development achievements BRICS has made over the past 20 years since its founding, noting that the BRICS mechanism is broadly representative and holds enormous potential for growth. Faced with intensifying geopolitical conflicts and rising unilateralism, BRICS countries have the responsibility to speak up for the Global South, uphold multilateralism, support the central role of the United Nations, safeguard the sovereign equality of all countries, abide by international law, oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs, support free trade, and work together to address global challenges. The parties should uphold the BRICS spirit, deepen cooperation across all fields, strengthen economic resilience, promote a fairer and more inclusive international order, and build a secure and prosperous multipolar world. The parties commended China for its important contribution to the development and growth of the BRICS mechanism, and expressed support for China, as next year’s chair, in successfully hosting the 19th BRICS Summit, working together to bring BRICS cooperation to a new level.

The summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration of the 18th BRICS Summit.

During the summit, the BRICS leaders visited a photo exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of BRICS, planted trees together, and took a group photo.
Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the above events.

China
Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn

Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At Session I of the 18th BRICS Summit
New Delhi, September 12, 2026

Your Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to join you in New Delhi. I thank Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government for the thoughtful arrangements.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of BRICS cooperation. Over the past two decades, BRICS has been growing with strong vigor and vitality, and become the most influential cooperation platform in today’s world for emerging markets and developing countries.

These are 20 years of self-reliance and self-strengthening. Standing at the forefront of the Global South, we BRICS countries have upheld independence, actively explored development paths suited to our respective national conditions, and set a fine example of emerging markets and developing countries seeking strength through unity.

These are 20 years of standing together through wind and rain. BRICS countries have been forging ahead with an undaunted spirit. Hand in hand we tackled the global financial crisis, COVID pandemic, climate change and other challenges, and we resolutely defended the common interests of the Global South, providing the world with stability and positive energy.

These are 20 years of fruitful outcomes. BRICS has realized a historic expansion, and now has a comprehensive, multifaceted cooperation structure with ever deepening cooperation in trade, investment, finance and technology, among others. It has entered a new stage of high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation.

Today, changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The Global South is gaining strength, and the trend toward a multipolar world is unstoppable. At the same time, unilateralism and power politics are surging against the tide, lashing at multilateralism and the international order. The deficits in peace, development, security and governance keep growing. For the exact purpose of addressing these deficits and building a better world, I have put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative. BRICS must stand firmly on the right side of history, strive to be a pioneer of our times, steer the international order in a direction that is more just and equitable, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

First, BRICS should be a pioneer in advancing innovation-driven development. The new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by AI is bringing breakthroughs at a faster pace, shaping the global development landscape. We BRICS countries must keep the initiative firmly in our hands, strengthen cooperation in the field of AI, encourage open source, openness, collaboration and sharing, and break new grounds and scale new heights in our practical cooperation. Not long ago, China, together with various parties, initiated the World AI Cooperation Organization, and has developed international AI application cooperation centers with BRICS and others, which provide important platforms for closer AI cooperation for the world, particularly Global South countries. We welcome the active participation of BRICS countries. Here, I propose the BRICS initiative of AI-empowered new industrialization. China hopes to work with all parties for more outcomes in R&D and application and deeper cooperation in industrial and supply chains. Facts will prove that decoupling and cutting off supply chains will not hold back our development process, and espousing “small yard, high fences” will only box oneself in and divide the world.

Second, BRICS should be a pioneer in upholding peace and stability. Far from being tranquil, the world today is increasingly fluid and turbulent. This is fundamentally because the postwar international order is being undermined, and the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter are not effectively observed. BRICS should stand firm, uphold justice, and strive to put an end to conflicts and defend peace. We should act on the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, and oppose violation of other countries’ sovereignty or interference in other countries’ internal affairs. We should participate constructively in the settlement of hotspot issues, and make BRICS’ unique contribution to addressing both the symptoms and root causes.

The situation in the Middle East remains complex and fluid. This war has inflicted serious losses on the people of all countries in the region, and it is against the common interests of the international community. I have set out four propositions on safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, which are aimed at de-escalation, ending hostilities and promoting peace. The relevant parties should keep to the direction of political settlement, and work for a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire. Attention should be paid to addressing the problems at the source, rebuilding trust between regional countries, and establishing a new security architecture. The Palestinian question is always at the core of the Middle East issue, and the fundamental way forward is to implement the two-state solution and realize peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel. China will work with fellow BRICS members to play a due role in bringing peace and tranquility to the Middle East.

Third, BRICS should be a pioneer in facilitating mutual learning between civilizations. As a Chinese adage goes, the beauty of a delicious soup lies in the blending of different flavors. With our time-honored and diverse cultures, BRICS should be a garden of inclusive coexistence that allows various civilizations to flourish. We should promote the common values of humanity, and advocate exchange, mutual learning and harmonious coexistence between civilizations. We should hold the BRICS People-to-People Exchange Forum to share experience on national governance and build up positive energy for stable state-to-state relations. We should deepen cooperation in culture, tourism and education, step up exchanges between our youths, and facilitate mutual visits between the people to increase mutual understanding and amity.

Fourth, BRICS should be a pioneer in reforming and improving global governance. What kind of global governance system to build will determine the future of humanity. BRICS should align with the trend toward greater democracy in international relations, work toward a more just and equitable global governance system, uphold the authority of the U.N., and oppose withdrawal from international organizations and treaties or creating rival systems. We should support the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, advance WTO reform, oppose abuse of tariffs, and reject all forms of protectionist measures. We should steer global governance in frontier domains such as cyberspace, outer space and deep sea, and increase the voice of Global South countries.

Colleagues,

During our arduous journey of 20 years, solidarity and cooperation have always been the source of strength for the cause of BRICS. We should continue treating each other with candor and sincerity, and seeking common ground while shelving differences. We should respect each other’s core concerns, and commit ourselves to communication and dialogue to increase mutual understanding and properly handle disagreements, so that BRICS cooperation will continue to advance steadily.
China will take over the BRICS chairship next year, and host the 19th BRICS Summit. The Chinese side will seize the opportunity to build consensus and work with all parties to plan for the future. Together, we will usher in the third golden decade of BRICS cooperation, and open up a bright prospect of shared prosperity and progress.
Thank you.

China
Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn

Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At Session II of the 18th BRICS Summit
New Delhi, September 13, 2026

Your Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

Colleagues,

I thank Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government for hosting this meeting.

We meet at a time when changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The Global South, with its collective rise, has become a key driver of world multipolarity. At the same time, the international landscape is volatile and fraught with risks and challenges. To bring stability to the world and make it a better place, BRICS countries must seize the historical initiative, rally the Global South, be an active, stabilizing and positive force in international affairs, and advance the well-being of all humanity.

A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights, where chaos and disorder are all but guaranteed. Fairness and justice is a universal aspiration, and international rules must be written by all countries. The logic of “might makes right” does not hold, and should have been discarded long ago. Global South countries should jointly defend the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of international relations including sovereign equality, noninterference in internal affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and ensure that international law and international rules are applied to all, free from double standards.

All countries, regardless of their size, strength or wealth, are equal members of the international community. Global South countries should hold high the banner of multilateralism, uphold the authority and role of the United Nations, support multilateral institutions in advancing reform and increasing efficiency, and ensure the equal participation of all countries in international affairs. We should see to it that the reform of the World Trade Organization proceeds in the right direction, uphold such principles as the most-favored-nation treatment, and actively explore new rules for the future. We should support the operation and development of the New Development Bank to facilitate Global South cooperation. The international financial architecture must be reformed and improved to increase the representation and voice of developing countries.

“To achieve great things, one should always put the people first.” Global South countries should stay committed to a people-centered development philosophy and strive to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since China launched the Global Development Initiative five years ago, we have implemented over 2,000 projects in partnership with others, and provided training for more than 200,000 professionals, benefiting people in more than 120 countries. China is opening its door ever wider to the world. We have granted zero-tariff treatment for all the 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China. We will continue to broaden independent and unilateral opening up, and share the opportunities of China’s development with other countries.

As global challenges keep surfacing, we should adopt a holistic approach to address both the symptoms and root causes. Global South countries should jointly advance security governance and tackle both traditional and nontraditional security threats. We should improve global climate governance, and urge the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. We should take a people-centered approach, develop AI for the positive and for good, and work faster to evolve a consensus-based global AI governance framework, so that new technologies can light the way toward shared prosperity.

Colleagues,

To accomplish great things and achieve major progress, the foundation of greater BRICS cooperation must be cemented. We should leverage our close ties with fellow emerging markets and Global South countries, uphold open cooperation for mutual benefit, safeguard stable and smooth industrial and supply chains, and foster a large integrated market. We should build incubators for innovation, upgrade traditional industries, develop emerging industries, and deploy future industries. To this end, I wish to put forward five initiatives:

First, the open source and inclusive AI initiative. China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS AI open source community, support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialized AI seminars and training courses, and build an open ecosystem for AI.

Second, the trade and investment facilitation initiative. China proposes to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development. In an effort to cultivate new drivers of economic and trade cooperation, China will hold the BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year. We welcome your active participation.

Third, the digital industry cooperation initiative. China will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy.

Fourth, the intelligent manufacturing cooperation initiative. China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms, and jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading.

Fifth, the science and technology talent development initiative. China proposes to set up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards. China will launch a BRICS youth exchange program for scientific and technological innovation, so as to cultivate more high-caliber talent.

Colleagues,

This year marks the launch of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. It is both a blueprint for China’s development and a cooperation list for the rest of the world. China will continue to advance high-quality development, expand high-standard opening up, implement the Global Development Initiative, and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to share opportunities and prosper together with all countries. Let us work as one to promote greater BRICS cooperation and write a new chapter of strength through unity for the Global South!
Thank you.

China
Source: fmprc.gov.cn

On the morning of September 13 local time, President Xi Jinping attended Session II of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, and delivered an important statement titled “Cementing the Foundation for BRICS Cooperation and Bolstering the Srength of the Global South.”

President Xi pointed out that this meeting is held at a time when changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. The Global South, with its collective rise, has become a key driver of world multipolarity. At the same time, the international landscape is volatile and fraught with risks and challenges. To bring stability to the world and make it a better place, BRICS countries must seize the historical initiative, rally the Global South, be an active, stabilizing and positive force in international affairs, and advance the well-being of all humanity.

President Xi stressed that Global South countries should jointly defend the rule of law in international affairs, safeguard the basic norms of international relations including sovereign equality, noninterference in internal affairs, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and ensure that international law and international rules are applied to all, free from double standards. Global South countries should hold high the banner of multilateralism, uphold the authority and role of the United Nations, support multilateral institutions in advancing reform and increasing efficiency, and see to it that reform of the World Trade Organization proceeds in the right direction. The international financial architecture must be reformed and improved to increase the representation and voice of developing countries. Global South countries should stay committed to a people-centered development philosophy and strive to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Global South countries should jointly advance security governance, tackle both traditional and nontraditional threats, improve global climate governance, and work faster to evolve a consensus-based global AI governance framework, so that new technologies can light the way toward shared prosperity.

President Xi pointed out that to accomplish great things and achieve major progress, the foundation of greater BRICS cooperation must be cemented. BRICS should leverage close ties with fellow emerging markets and Global South countries, uphold open cooperation for mutual benefit, safeguard stable and smooth industrial and supply chains, foster a large integrated market, build incubators for innovation, upgrade traditional industries, develop emerging industries, and deploy future industries. President Xi put forward five initiatives for deepening BRICS cooperation:

First, the open source and inclusive AI initiative. China will be a pioneer in establishing a BRICS AI open source community, support the cooperation in developing and applying large language models, hold specialized AI seminars and training courses, and build an open ecosystem for AI.

Second, the trade and investment facilitation initiative. China proposes to establish a BRICS special economic zone partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development. In an effort to cultivate new drivers of economic and trade cooperation, China will hold the BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year.

Third, the digital industry cooperation initiative. China will push for establishing a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, and conduct digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, so as to jointly enable the development of the digital economy.

Fourth, the intelligent manufacturing cooperation initiative. China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms, and jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading.

Fifth, the science and technology talent development initiative. China proposes to set up a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards. China will launch a BRICS youth exchange program for scientific and technological innovation, so as to cultivate more high-caliber talent.

President Xi stressed that this year marks the launch of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. It is both a blueprint for China’s development and a cooperation list for the rest of the world. China will continue to advance high-quality development, expand high-standard opening up, implement the Global Development Initiative, and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to share opportunities and prosper together with all countries, and jointly write a new chapter of strength through unity for the Global South.

The session was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the UAE’s Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohamed, Brazilian and Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministers, leaders or representatives of BRICS partner countries and guest countries, and Secretary General António Guterres of the United Nations and other heads of international organizations, and chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Before the session, President Xi took a group photo with participating leaders.

Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the above event.

China
Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn

On the afternoon of September 12 local time, President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while attending the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India. The two leaders had a sincere and in-depth exchange of views and reached the important consensus that China and India should be partners.

President Xi pointed out that China always approaches and develops its relations with India from a strategic and long-term perspective. Over the past two years, I have met with Prime Minister Modi twice, guiding the bilateral relations from starting afresh to making further improvements. The institutional exchanges between the two countries have gradually resumed, the cooperation list has continued to lengthen, and the bilateral trade volume has hit a new high. This situation has not come easily and needs to be cherished. China and India have different national realities. We should draw on each other’s strengths, support each other, help each other succeed, and develop together. In the face of the changing and turbulent international landscape, the world’s two most populous countries and important members of the Global South shoulder important responsibilities. Both sides should keep in mind the future of humanity and the well-being of the people, and work together to promote the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, so as to contribute more positive energy to promoting world peace, stability, development, and prosperity.

President Xi made four observations on promoting the steady and sustained development of China-India relations. First, calibrate the direction with an objective and rational strategic perception. China and India are partners rather than rivals, and development opportunities rather than threats to each other. This is a strategic judgment made based on the development stage and international environment of the two countries, and one that conforms to the common interests of the two countries and the two peoples. Second, help each other succeed in the spirit of win-win cooperation. Both sides should focus on development as the greatest common denominator, and strengthen friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation. It is important to expand cooperation in people-to-people exchanges, direct flights, and other areas to effectively improve the public perception of the bilateral relations. The two sides should also address each other’s economic and trade concerns in a balanced way and promote the sound and steady development of economic and trade relations. Third, remove irritants with the political wisdom of mutual respect and mutual understanding. The two sides should stay committed to advancing bilateral relations and resolving the boundary question, seek parallel, mutually reinforcing progress, and maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. Fourth, contribute to a better world with open and inclusive multilateral coordination. The two sides should support each other’s BRICS chairship, strengthen coordination in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the G20, work together to address global challenges, and unequivocally uphold international fairness and justice.

Prime Minister Modi recalled the many productive meetings he has had with President Xi, which have guided India-China relations in a positive direction and serve the common interests of the over 2.8 billion people of the two countries. As two major civilizations, India and China have engaged in exchanges and mutual learning and moved forward hand in hand for thousands of years. India always views its relations with China from a strategic and long-term perspective. It hopes to be a partner, not a rival, of China, and regards each other’s development as an opportunity, not a challenge. India has an independent foreign policy, and developing relations with China is not affected by any third party. India’s policy and position on issues relating to Taiwan and Tibet remain unchanged, and it will not allow any force to engage in anti-China activities on its territory. The Indian side would like to work with China on the basis of mutual respect and mutual trust to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and deepen people-to-people exchanges, so that the bilateral relations will enjoy greater development. The two sides should work together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. India appreciates China’s support for its hosting the BRICS Summit, and will fully support China’s BRICS chairship next year. India will maintain close coordination and collaboration with China to jointly promote stronger Global South cooperation, advance world multipolarity and economic growth, and act as a force for stability and progress in a turbulent world.

Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the meeting.

Greece
Source: moderndiplomacy.eu

BRICS is no longer just a diplomatic club for emerging economies. Its 11 members represent approximately 49.5% of the world's population, 40% of global GDP, and 26% of global trade.

BRICS is no longer just a diplomatic club for emerging economies. Its 11 members represent approximately 49.5% of the world’s population, 40% of global GDP, and 26% of global trade. Meanwhile, India’s economy continues to grow at a rapid pace. The question before New Delhi is no longer whether India has a platform. It is about whether it has the power to use that platform to influence outcomes. The 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on September 12-13, comes at an unusually significant time. India’s 2026 chairmanship focuses on “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability.” However, the summit is taking place amid renewed conflict in West Asia, disruptions to maritime commerce and energy markets, and increased competition over the shape of the global order. On September 12, BRICS leaders adopted the New Delhi Declaration, expressing serious concern over the escalation in West Asia and calling for maximum restraint, dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy. The declaration demonstrates that the BRICS can speak together about a crisis. The more difficult question is whether India can use its presidency to help the grouping become more capable of taking action.

India’s Untapped Leverage

India enters this moment with more than just diplomatic presence. In FY2024-25, its total exports amounted to around $825 billion, with services accounting for approximately $387 billion. Few developing countries can match New Delhi’s economic leverage, which stems from its large domestic market, expanding digital economy, and sustained growth. India is also a major provider of digital public infrastructure, and its demographics position it to play an increasingly important role in global consumption, production, and services.

The Gulf dimension makes this leverage especially important. In FY2024-25, India-Gulf Cooperation Council trade totalled approximately $178.56 billion, accounting for more than 15% of India’s global trade. Nearly ten million Indians live in GCC countries, and the Gulf region accounts for a significant portion of India’s remittance inflows. For New Delhi, West Asian instability is therefore a strategic, economic, and human-security issue.

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India’s geography provides an additional layer of leverage. Its location on the Indian Ocean brings it close to the maritime routes that connect the Gulf, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Red Sea. When the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea shipping is threatened, India is not an observer from afar. Its trade, energy supplies, citizens, and maritime interests are all directly affected.

From Diplomatic Voice to Strategic Leverage

India’s foreign policy has long combined assertion and accommodation. It positions itself as a leading voice for the Global South while maintaining relationships with competing power centers. It collaborates with the United States and its Indo-Pacific partners while maintaining strategic ties with Russia; it is a member of the Quad and also operates within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

This is not always strategic ambiguity. It refers to strategic flexibility. However, flexibility gains influence only when it produces results. India’s challenge is to shift from presence to leverage. It has already appeared in almost every major multilateral discussion. The next step is to establish itself as a country that other actors rely on when dealing with difficult issues.

Why West Asia Is India’s Strategic Opening

India has an unusually large network of relationships throughout West Asia. It maintains close ties with the Gulf states while retaining diplomatic relations with Iran. It has close ties with Israel, the United States, and Russia, as well as increasingly institutionalized ties with the rest of the Arab world.
That does not make India capable of ensuring West Asian security. New Delhi should not seek such a role. A security guarantor is responsible for protecting an order. A security convener creates spaces for competing actors to communicate, negotiate, and reduce the risk of escalation. India is better suited for the second role. The distinction is especially important given the current crisis. India has already engaged multiple parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on September 11 reaffirmed India’s preference for dialogue and diplomacy, emphasizing freedom of navigation, commerce, and seafarers’ safety. Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed regional conflicts and their impact on maritime trade.

BRICS: from declarations to problem-solving

Iran, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, as well as India, China, and Russia, form the expanded BRICS. This diversity makes consensus difficult, but it also creates a diplomatic space that few other groups can match. India should use that space to set up a BRICS-West Asia Contact and Mediation Mechanism. It does not have to be a military or treaty-based arrangement. Its initial mandate could include crisis communication, preventive diplomacy, humanitarian coordination, and maritime security. First, the BRICS could create a permanent channel for consultations during major West Asian crises. Second, India could promote a BRICS Maritime Resilience Initiative that includes the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, and western Indian Ocean, with a focus on maritime information sharing, emergency communications, search and rescue, commercial shipping protection, and crisis coordination. Third, the BRICS could create mechanisms to coordinate emergency energy and protect critical infrastructure. Fourth, it could establish a humanitarian framework for emergency evacuation and medical care during conflicts. The logic is deliberately modest. BRICS should not seek to replace the United Nations, Gulf institutions, or existing maritime security arrangements. It should add another channel for states with different relationships to communicate when existing channels are blocked or insufficient.

The Market Dimension of Indian Leadership

India’s case for increased global influence is not solely based on diplomacy. It is becoming a market proposition. Its export base, services economy, digital infrastructure, and large consumer market give it negotiating power with energy producers, investors, and supply chain partners. The BRICS are becoming a significant economic network, but internal asymmetry is important. According to recent data, China dominates BRICS trade, while India is much smaller within the bloc and has a significant trade deficit with BRICS partners. In the first half of 2026, India’s exports to BRICS were approximately $48 billion, while imports were around $178 billion. This is both a constraint and a policy signal. India cannot translate BRICS membership into leadership simply by declaring multipolarity. It needs to increase its high-value exports, technology partnerships, logistics connectivity, and investment ties. Behind diplomatic ambition, leadership requires economic capability.

China: Compete through Performance, Not Confrontation

China will remain central to India’s BRICS strategy. However, India should not allow China to define the organization or turn every BRICS initiative into a competition with Beijing. Instead, New Delhi should compete on institutional performance. If India can leverage BRICS for maritime security, crisis diplomacy, energy resilience, digital connectivity, and development cooperation, its influence will grow without forcing other members to choose between India and China. This would also give strategic autonomy a more modern interpretation. Strategic autonomy should not simply imply refusing to take sides. It should imply having enough capability and diplomatic room to influence the options available to others.

From “Pitching and Hitching” to Agenda Setting

India’s global strategy can be summarized in two words: pitching and hitching. “Pitching” refers to projecting India as a major global power and the voice of the Global South. “Hitching” refers to the pragmatic use of existing institutions and strategic partnerships. Both remain necessary. However, India’s next step should be agenda setting, identifying areas where it has national interests, capabilities, and power, and then forming coalitions and institutions around them. West Asian security is one of these areas. India does not need to become the region’s police force. It does not need to ensure peace in a region riven by complex rivalries. It must become one of the powers to which others turn when they require dialog, mediation, maritime coordination, or humanitarian aid.

The Larger Test of Indian Leadership

India’s BRICS presidency was built on resilience, innovation, collaboration, and sustainability. The West Asian crisis has created an opportunity to give those words strategic meaning. Resilience can include safeguarding energy and maritime supply chains. Innovation can entail developing new mechanisms for crisis communication and digital collaboration. Cooperation can entail bringing states with opposing interests into ongoing dialog. The New Delhi summit highlights why this is difficult. BRICS members have very different strategic relationships and interests, so reaching an agreement on West Asia required extensive negotiation. Despite their differences, the group’s joint declaration demonstrates India’s convening power. India’s leadership should be evaluated based on its ability to foster cooperation in a fragmented international environment, rather than its prominence in diplomatic photographs. The first phase of India’s rise was focused on scale. The following must be about capability. The subsequent phase must focus on leverage. The ultimate test of global leadership is agenda setting.

India does not have to guarantee West Asian security. It must become indispensable in the diplomacy that can make West Asia more secure.

Russia
Source: www.mid.ru

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to questions during the meeting with MGIMO University students and faculty, Moscow, September 7, 2026

Mr Torkunov,

Friends,

MGIMO University Rector, Anatoly Torkunov, ended his opening remarks by mentioning the university’s anthem and that I had the honour of writing. The fact that this composition was taken on board is even more gratifying. But let me begin by addressing a small reproach to MGIMO’s senior faculty members because this anthem also includes a couple of other verses.

In the second couplet, the censors from the Rector’s office concluded that there was a hint that students are allowed to act on a slightly naughty side here and there as long as this does not create any trouble, and anyone in Russia, or elsewhere for this matter, can do this. Therefore, I do hope that if we are still here next year, please make sure to add the second verse, Mr Torkunov. But I am ready to work with you to add some edits, if needed.

I would like to welcome you at this traditional gathering.

The Rector has talked about the importance of these meetings for MGIMO University’s executive team. Let me assure you that this is also the case for me. This always serves as a very positive impetus for me and those within my team who maintain regular contacts with the university. I would like to express my gratitude to MGIMO University Rector Anatoly Torkunov for what he does on behalf of everyone here and from thousands of people who are not here today. Please, accept my warmest congratulations and best wishes on your birthday – you have marked it recently.

I would like to congratulate first-year students on the beginning of the academic year. In fact, this applies not only to first-year students, but everyone from other educational tiers who are starting the academic year. Of course, I congratulate faculty members and everyone who is involved in maintaining MGIMO University’s level of excellence. It has invariably been among the top Russian universities and also assumed leading positions in several international rankings.

We are living in challenging times. I have no doubt that everyone here takes an active interest in what is happening today. Throughout our history, no one wanted us to be strong. Much has been said about this, including by respected political researchers who are here today and regularly convey this message through their media appearances. Going back all the way to Ivan the Terrible, followed by the 19th and 20th century, and especially in the wake of the Great October Socialist Revolution, no one has ever wanted us to be strong.

In fact, many did not even want to communicate with us. Of course, there were countries under certain rulers who, due to their purely human qualities, were interested in maintaining normal relations with their Russian counterparts. In many cases, they were relatives and brothers, as monarchs. We know all this. However, throughout our entire history there was no sincerity based on the understanding of the historical, political and economic need to live together and promote mutual benefit instead of hatching mischief since those hatching it will ultimately catch it.

There are always exceptions to any rule. There was the Great Patriotic War, especially during its first years when the American lend-lease effort and the British Arctic Convoys, as witnessed by many contemporaries, played what can be de facto described as an almost decisive role in ensuring that in the first year of the war the Red Army was able not only to stand its ground but performed a feat near Moscow – this is when Hitler’s plans started falling apart.

However, those who helped us out with the lend-lease programme and the Arctic Convoys, those who promised opening the second front, they started weighing where the pendulum would swing. We received this assistance instantly and with no questions asked during the first year of the war because it was obvious that Adolf Hitler could not be stopped, as they thought in the West. Today, there are many historical documents to confirm this. Later, when the situation started to improve, to an extent, our allies, to say it as it was, decided to take a closer look at where the pendulum would swing, as I have already said. It is not a coincidence that the second front did not open until early summer 1944.

During the Soviet era and the years when the USSR ceased to exist and new states emerged – the Russian Federation and the former Soviet republics which became its neighbours, – our historians did everything to sweep under the carpet the facts revealing that our relations with the United States and Britain – especially Britain - were not quite those of allies. It was believed that we cherish this memory, and that there was a sacred memory of a brotherhood in arms and the Encounter at the Elbe. This is all true. President Vladimir Putin has emphasised many times the importance of those allied efforts. I am convinced that anyone who takes even the slightest interest in history and who has fair judgement fully shares this view. Yours truly is one such person. However, it now turns out that even before the cannons of the Second World War fell silent, the then Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill had already conceived Operation Unthinkable.

Yesterday, Dmitry Kiselev launched his new evening programme which dissects news and analyses it. He recalled 1949 when the US had plans to bomb about 300 cities in our country. It was only the development of the Soviet nuclear bomb that calmed down, if I may say so, the Americans. This was followed by the USSR falling into a crisis, there were missteps, just as in any other country regardless of its political or social regime. And then there was the perestroika, the glasnost – publicity – policy and the feeling of an end of history, as per Francis Fukuyama.

Many in Russia worshipped Francis Fukuyama. They rushed to embrace the West without thinking whether it was worth embracing it. This signalled a new era when we heard from the highest rostrums that we were no longer enemies or adversaries, and that we did not have any differences anymore in the way we live our lives and provide for the existence of our states and nations, that we are now tarred with the same brush, as the saying goes, and God Bless America.

I do not want to dwell too much on this topic since everyone knows it well and has experienced it in a very intensive way. But this moment did not last too long. This was a period when foreign specialists, experts, advisors filled our official agencies, ministries, state corporations, banks, including the Central Bank, and largely defined the privatisation programme, starting with a TV add equating a privatisation voucher to a Volga car. It did not take long before a bottle of vodka was all you could get for the voucher, and those who made this deal were happy.

Many things happened after that, but December 1999 marked a major stage when then-President Boris Yeltsin transferred power to Vladimir Putin and wished him every success in becoming elected the following year. We know the results of this election very well. That election marked the aspiration and urgent need expressed by the entire nation to return to its roots. It did not happen in an instant and not everyone shared this view, but there was a general sense that this is what we need.
What followed was a challenging path because the West believed that in the 1990s everything worked out as it was supposed to and that the new Russia, having become an ally of the West, is now locked and loaded, to put it simply. But Western political observers and politicians, as well as ideological masterminds, did not factor in the notion summed up by a poem saying that the Soviet people have their own sense of pride. It is not that only the USSR had this kind of awareness. There was a sense of pride within our ethnically diverse nation, and it always existed. The anomaly of the 1990s somewhat suppressed the deep-rooted traditional, civilisational tenets which our people and state always shared.

In the 2000s, after being elected, President Vladimir Putin was genuinely interested in establishing good relations with the West as equal partners, as opposed to what these relations used to be in the 1990s, when we were invited to attend select G8 meetings. It was like we were told to wait in a hallway until we get invited. The financial G8 meetings, which we’re no longer interested in, were held in the same manner as well until recently. We are now full-fledged G20 participants. But we always felt like second-class citizens the way the West treated us.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited his conversation with US President Bill Clinton in his first year as President of Russia telling the latter we had no issues between us now, no ideological disagreements, and that both countries relied on the market economy. The Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union were history, so he suggested taking it a step further and extending our cooperation to include NATO. We were willing and ready to be an equal and active member of this bloc, which would stabilise the Euro-Atlantic space.

According to President Vladimir Putin, then US President Bill Clinton told him he would think about it. That very evening at a G20 or OSCE event President Clinton told President Putin that his advisers talked his out of it. Well, that was the first red flag to alert us to what kind of participant the West saw us as it was developing its plans for society that, after the end of history, would be united, ideologically cohesive and united by liberal democracy principles.

You are most likely aware of how things unfolded from then on. In 2007, having had his fill of conversations with his Western counterparts, President Vladimir Putin delivered a perfectly composed speech at the Munich Security Conference, in which he laid out the facts and asked the audience whether it was what they really wanted and if this was truly their attitude towards our country. You are aware of what happened next.

Why am I making such a lengthy introduction? Differences between us and the collective West began to mount, not because, as the saying goes, we were looking for trouble. Not in the least. We simply wanted our truth and our legitimate interests, which fully align with the UN Charter principles and other international legal documents, to be heard and taken into account, or better yet respected the way Russia respects others.

This alone caused rejection. It was seen as a mutiny aboard a ship. How was this even possible? We were told we arrived at the end of history, and yet we were the ones to start some kind of new history. They failed to understand, though, that we weren’t starting a new history, but were simply staying faithful and devoted to our roots, ancestors, history, statehood, and civilisation.

This gave rise to the Ukraine crisis, which had been brewing since 2004, when the West cancelled the second round of elections and pressed Ukraine’s Constitutional Court into declaring a third, this time illegal, round, which the Western candidate won. Many events followed. The West clearly made Ukraine the point of the spear of its armed forces aimed at the Russian Federation.

It was quite telling. Ukraine decided to sign an association agreement with the European Union, and President Vladimir Putin pointed out to then Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych that this was impossible because of the free trade zone between Ukraine and Russia (we have strong protection from the EU, which we developed during more than 18 years of negotiations to join the World Trade Organisation). If Ukraine were to open its market to all goods from the EU, we would be compelled to establish a customs border between us and Ukraine in order to prevent our market from being flooded with the goods we have protected ourselves against.

The mere fact that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych asked the EU to postpone the signing of this agreement for him to analyse the situation was the main reason for the Maidan protests. Viktor Yanukovych was branded as a traitor who opposed joining the EU. Brussels was quite vocal in telling Ukrainians to decide who they were with, Russia or Europe, meaning that the “either-or” approach didn’t go anywhere. We were always considered an evil force that led our neighbours the wrong way and prevented them from ecstatically embracing their European neighbours.

The agreement was eventually reached. The first agreement was to create a government of national unity in February 2014 and to hold elections five months after that. The next morning, they seized all the administrative buildings and announced that they had created a government not of national unity, but a government of victors. They said Yanukovych was nowhere to be found in Kiev and must have fled.

Whenever you get a chance, you can familiarise yourselves with what Western leaders had to say literally the day after the coup. They said, “Finally, the Ukrainian people have had their say.”
One year later, the Minsk agreements were approved by the UN Security Council. Here, too, we were lied to. Then German Chancellor Angela Merkel lied, as did then French President Francois Hollande, and then Ukrainian President Poroshenko. All three of them proudly declared they had no intention of implementing anything. They needed to buy time to prepare for war against Russia.

The Russian President recently recalled Istanbul. In April 2022, after the start of the special military operation, the Ukrainians brought their proposals, and we agreed to them. However, they were told by Boris Johnson and some other figures to keep fighting.

I’m saying this because we are witnessing growing hostility towards Russia, our wealth, our size, our multi-ethnic nation, which tends to trust people, but if this trust gets abused, the guilty party will be met with a harsh response. Our people’s qualities, primarily, our country’s size and wealth, did not sit well with the West.

Many of our political analysis television channels are focusing on the efforts to create political movements out of what they refer to in Belarus as “fugitives,” or those who have “relocated” to foreign countries. These efforts look pathetic, but the work is underway, funds are being allocated, and various international organisations that supposedly deal with environmental or other “innocent” issues are being used to that end.

I’m not here to complain that nobody likes us, no. It is not about resentment. It is simply a statement of fact. Every time we make an agreement with someone, we do so guided by pragmatism. Certain emotions may be part of the deal from our side given the strength of our character. We love fairy tales and fables, and Russian literature, which teach us humanity. Pragmatism is, of course, always there. We do not cut any deals without pragmatism or a balance of interests.

How sincere are the people on the other side? I have cited examples of instances when we have been burned. We have been burned many times throughout our history. Take George V and Nicholas II, for example. In the spring of 1917, Nicholas II’s request to provide political asylum for his family was turned down.

Examples abound. Each country has its own history. And each country is responsible for its own history. If that history is acceptable to the people or peoples concerned - the English, Scots, or the Irish, for example - then, by all means, let them live as their gods tell them to. I’m not sure we pray to the same God, though. But if that is the case, other peoples should enjoy the same right. We have never told anyone how to live their lives, whereas the West has never stopped doing so.
They are now trying to put the colonial era out of their minds. The issue is about over five hundred years of Western domination, during which the West squeezed every last drop from other countries and carried out genocide against Native Americans in America and Black people in Africa. They are trying to leave that behind them, while accusing us of interference in other nations’ affairs. Was half of Europe conquered or liberated after WWII? That is a debatable question.

The fact is, though, that Europe came under Nazi rule, and the overwhelming majority of its population did not merely submit to Nazi rule but fought on the side of the Nazis against us. What were we supposed to say? “Okay, guys, we’re done here. We’ve liberated you, now go ahead and live your lives the way you used to.” History follows its own laws.

I was stunned to read the other day on social media about a Japanese scholar who had written a piece arguing that Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have never happened were it not for the Soviet Union. I’m serious. He explained this by saying that the agreements reached at the Yalta Conference had been allegedly violated by the Soviet Union because it began to expand its influence strongly around the world.

The United States and President Harry Truman were unable to put up with this. They bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to make the Soviet Union “know its place” and stop its “expansion.” I will not go deep into that… But all of that was put forward in earnest by a prominent person recognised as a scholar.

With regard to the special military operation, after our numerous warnings, after repeated reminders of the assurances that it would not expand given by NATO to Mikhail Gorbachev (they claim it was a verbal promise), we began reminding them of the OSCE 1999 Istanbul Declaration which had it in writing that under no circumstances would any group of countries seek to dominate the Euro-Atlantic space. They said it was a mere political declaration. We suggested signing a legally binding instrument. What was their response? They said “We made joint political declarations that are worth nothing; legally binding security guarantees can only be obtained within NATO.” This push to join the alliance was deliberately fostered in order to encompass ever more territory and creep ever closer to our borders.

The first attempt to agree on these legally binding guarantees was made in 2008-2009; the latest one was in 2021, when, in order to avoid the planned “final solution” to the Donetsk and Lugansk question meaning the destruction of our people, we proposed concluding two treaties, a Russia-US treaty and a Russia-NATO treaty. Both were spurned.

The historical process has sped up sharply since the beginning of the special military operation. It would have continued to unfold in “the West against us” or “the West against the rest of the world” paradigms, because the West is unwilling to come to grips with objective changes in the international arena, as new burgeoning centres of power that are balancing the global economy make the world system more stable. The West is against giving them their due. That is why neither China nor India nor other BRICS countries receive the IMF quotas and voting rights they are entitled to according to their global economic weight. Reforms are being artificially held back in order to preserve the US veto, even though, by all economic indicators, that veto should have long been abolished.

Similar steps to contain China are being taken in the WTO. The body responsible for settling disputes has been blocked. So far, there are no signs of a departure from this unilateral position. There are no positive signals.

The development of the richest and largest Eurasian continent is going hand in hand with a new awakening in Africa, where the African Union and all subregional organisations are seeking economic independence and autonomy and want to manage their own natural resources themselves. The euphoria that followed political freedom and decolonisation has passed, because throughout all these decades, African countries, which are politically members of the United Nations, have remained under tremendous economic and financial pressure from the West, which takes their natural resources while creating at home the added value that accounts for the bulk of the profits.

Speaking of Latin America, it was not for nothing that, when Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last came to the presidential palace, he said that one of his first initiatives within BRICS would be to seek alternative forms of payment, insurance, reinsurance, and settlements more generally. Even now, the bulk of settlements within BRICS and the SCO are conducted in currencies other than the US dollar. That is not to mention the EAEU, the CIS, and the CSTO, as well as our relations with ASEAN and the GCC.

Russia has by now shifted over 90 percent of its trade to either national currencies or reliable “dollar substitutes,” such as the yuan and the dirham. There are many options that provide flexibility and prevent the US dollar, which formally retains its position as the world’s leading reserve currency, from being used for outright blackmail and coercion. This process is unstoppable. Attempts are being made to slow it down. Hence this harshness and the unprecedentedly aggressive actions to impose sanctions and to seize state assets and reserves, something that has never happened before. This is outright theft and plunder. Theft is carried out quietly, whereas plunder, as you know, is done openly. The West is now engaged in plundering assets and the “shadow fleet.” President Vladimir Putin mentioned this again at a news conference on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan.

The political life in our country continues. The forthcoming elections to the State Duma are one of the key events of this year and of the entire five-year period. The West is doing everything it can to cast a shadow over this event and to make up as many pretexts as possible that could subsequently be used to call into question the fairness of the elections and the sincerity of the people expressing their will. We feel this inside the country as well, where various characters seeking to assist the West have become more active as well. That includes terrorists hired to undermine our positions in the interest of the Ukrainian Nazi regime.

In this regard, I would like to reiterate what I said as a member of the “group of five” of the United Russia Party to respond to statements that are occasionally made loudly, and occasionally in private conversations, that people have got uncomfortable. That is true. President Vladimir Putin addressed this as well. People in our border regions, such as the Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions, feel more than uncomfortable. People there and not only there are being killed almost daily. All of that can be felt in various parts of the Russian Federation. There was a very detailed discussion of this, including during the celebrations of Moscow City Day, when President Vladimir Putin met with war correspondents. Naturally, this is one of the main tasks facing our military personnel and everyone working on this in the manufacturing industry.

Let’s turn to diplomacy. Just like everyone else, diplomats are part of society. Our representatives abroad are widely involved in the election campaign. Polling stations are being opened abroad where our citizens, for example, those who happen to be on business trips can vote. We will open polling stations in 152 countries, with 326 polling stations in total. Of these, 61 are in the countries with unfriendly governments which is largely comparable to the situation during the previous State Duma elections five years ago, as well as the most recent presidential election. Their number in the West has fallen by 60 polling stations due to the closure of our consulates. The latest was the Germans’ disgraceful decision to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn on a ridiculous and contrived pretext. The number of locations and personnel is being reduced. We see it as a case of “you cannot force someone to love you.” We have many proverbs that explain this situation and suggest what needs to be done.

We never wanted to be nice. All we wanted was to be honest in our dealings. However, they are unable to talk honestly about the issues that are of fundamental importance to the security of our entire continent. That is why, for more than two years now, we have been reallocating our personnel to areas where people do not take a defiant stance, live up to their obligations and promises, and work honestly to find a balance of interests. That is what human relations are all about, not just diplomacy or foreign and domestic policy. It’s about a balance of interests, as in any family. You want everything to be nicely balanced, don’t you? Naturally, there are specifics. We have many like-minded partners. Our line of thinking and our truth have been recognised and have attracted sympathy.
I’m not sure what I’m going to say is not out of place, but I’ll say it anyway: an element of the wait-and-see approach is still there. These days, as they say, we need to strengthen Russia’s influence around the world. Of course, we do. We are working on it, and the President is working on it as well. We have created effective associations such as the SCO, BRICS, and many others. We have established ties with other integration groups which are willing to work with us because, to reiterate, we always seek mutually beneficial solutions, including in the economic sphere, rather than trying to say: “If you do not give me your rare earth metals, I will slap tariffs on you that will make you regret it.” That’s not who we are. You know who uses methods like these.

The situation on the frontlines is the main and decisive factor shaping how we are perceived in the world, as well as the prospects for expanding our influence and strengthening our position globally. Once again, I would like to bow to all those taking part in the special military operation, to everyone ensuring that they can carry out their work through organising the rear area operations, and to everyone supporting them with humanitarian assistance. As I understand, there are people here who took part in the special military operation. My respects go to you.

The Foreign Ministry’s main goals are to provide the most effective possible diplomatic and political support for the special military operation; to explain its origins and causes; and to make clear our position, which would have made it possible to end this war on fair terms on many occasions. President Vladimir Putin put forward these terms back in 2024. To end it in a way that that would preclude resurgence of Nazism in Europe which has once again metastasised in this part of the world. Leaving in power a regime that ceremoniously reburies, standing on its knees, the remains of Nazi criminals would mean - and I do not think I am speaking too grandly now, I believe this is a critically important issue - betraying those who defeated Nazism in 1945. That simply cannot be part of our genetic code.

Once again, congratulations to everyone on the start of the academic year. It will be a demanding one in every sense. In addition to our army, navy, aerospace forces and unmanned systems forces - life is moving forward, bringing us more genuine allies - we must, on the diplomatic front and in journalism, political analysis and science, continue to mobilise all our resources to push back against lies and make the truth known to the world at large.

Thank you very much.

Anatoly Torkunov: Thank you very much, Mr Lavrov, for your exceptionally engaging remarks, with their foray into history and analysis of the contemporary situation. I believe it is profoundly important not only for first-year students, but indeed for all those present, to hear such a precise and compelling analytical assessment from you, covering both the past and the present.

Friends, we now have a unique opportunity to pose questions to the Minister. Mr Lavrov, perhaps you would prefer to answer from that seat? There is a microphone here.

Sergey Lavrov: I find it more convenient to remain here. I have already settled in. The flowers are in front of me.

Anatoly Torkunov: Understood, they do indeed brighten up life.

Question: I would like to express my gratitude for today’s remarks, which have enabled us, the students, to gain a deeper appreciation of various facets of our country’s foreign policy and the current international environment. As a future specialist in energy diplomacy and geopolitics, I would like to put the following question to you. In the context of shifts in global logistics chains and the transformation of the world energy market, how do you assess the prospects for diversifying Russian energy exports to Asian markets, and which external factors are being taken into consideration in this regard? Thank you.

Sergey Lavrov: It is no longer a mere prospect. The process has been advancing at full pace for a number of years now. Experts comment upon it regularly. Frankly, I do not even know what more to add.

We are told: “Pivot to the East.” There has been no pivot to the East. At least since the early 2000s, both heads of our eagle have been looking both to the West and to the East, and that remains the case.

Yet, in the current circumstances, Europe is committing hara-kiri and proudly proclaiming that it must endure hardship. Now the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, is again reducing certain social benefits, and during her tenure Annalena Baerbock, then Germany’s Foreign Minister, and later President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, declared: “Yes, our voters are experiencing discomfort. We must suffer, because Ukraine is fighting for our European values.”
By “European values,” it transpires, they mean Nazism, the internment of Nazi criminals, the prohibition of the Russian language, education, culture, the mass media, and the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We, naturally, started selling to those who are more reliable partners. If Europe wishes to pay 800–900 dollars per thousand cubic metres of American liquefied natural gas, there is little we can do about it.

There is no commotion here. We have always had a sufficient number of buyers. They, too, are now being told: “No, do not purchase from the Russians. Or buy at 45 dollars or euros” (they introduced a cap). Buy American LNG from us. We have surplus.” In other words, as for all the lamentations we have heard for decades about how globalisation is a boon for the entire world – we were told to simply accept the rules of globalisation and abide by these rules. Simultaneously, they claimed that Russian institutions and global trade mechanisms alike – everyone would benefit. Yet, they have simply signed their names to the fact that they were not truthful and are not concerned about their electorates who brought them to power. Just look at the movements that are arising, already rooted in socioeconomic grievances, and not merely in the policies of the present, say, German authorities, whose approach is utterly spineless and devoid of any semblance of independence.

Accordingly, OPEC+ recently convened and resolved to uphold the previously agreed limits. I believe this is the only way to conduct affairs in good faith. I have already mentioned the ongoing discussions within BRICS and other associations regarding the creation of alternative payment platforms and settlement mechanisms. The BRICS New Development Bank is presently undergoing reform, because when it was established, it was assumed that the dollar, the euro, and those who control these currencies would exhibit certain qualities befitting decent people. This has not proved to be the case. Therefore, plans are now afoot to establish an SCO Development Bank. It will be founded upon different principles, unconnected with either the dollar or chains controlled by the West.

Question: What will the Foreign Ministry’s focus in the next five to ten years be in light of the sustainable shifting of Russia’s foreign economic relations from Europe towards Asia, the Middle East and Global South countries? What sectors have the largest growth potential: energy, industrial cooperation, agriculture, transport of high technologies?

Sergey Lavrov: There are many such sectors. All of them have been formalised in long-term agreements on the development of practical cooperation with Russia’s key partners.
These are primarily the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, Central Asian states, members of the CIS and the EAEU, and the Union State of Russia and Belarus. In addition, our relations with ASEAN nations are spreading into new spheres, such as energy, including nuclear generation, agribusiness, including food supplies and food production in partner countries, as well as the production of fertilisers, and high technologies, of course.

A veritable race is underway in the latter sphere. The Americans have created Pax Silica, and several months ago China announced the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation, with Russia among the founding members. I can’t say that we are ahead of the world in all AI spheres, but we are leading in a number of aspects. Cooperation between BRICS and SCO members helps us hamper the attempts to yet again establish the domination of a single centre in this crucial sphere.

In other words, we follow the trends. Apart from the mechanism of annual meetings between our heads of government, Russia and China have five intergovernmental commissions co-chaired by deputy prime ministers. They go into minute details which the Foreign Ministry sometimes doesn’t need to know about.

Question: What role should Russia play in shaping a more stable system of regional security, considering the continued instability in the Middle East and a connection between the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the situation around Iran and Syria, and security of the Persian Gulf states?

Sergey Lavrov: Russia’s role in any part of the world, which does not directly border our territory but where we would like to see positive momentum for the development of relations and cooperation, has always been in supporting what the concerned countries are ready to coordinate, including those that don’t get along.

It was towards this end that at least more than 20 years ago, if I am not mistaken, Russia invited the Persian Gulf countries, including the Arab monarchies and Iran (call it prophetic, or call it foresight), to consider holding a meeting for approving a concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf area. We knew that relations between them were complicated, and thought that we could help organise meetings between them to discuss mutual complaints (and there were already a considerable number of them at that time), and coordinate confidence-building and military transparency measures, as well as possible joint events, such as anti-poaching or anti-terrorist drills.

We thought that the organisation of such discussions could be facilitated by the simultaneous involvement of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. At that time (we started promoting that concept more than 20 years ago), we were told that the idea sounds very good and might work in the future, but they were not yet ready for it.

When the war broke out, the situation started changing. You know that it is part of our character too, I mean waiting for the crisis to start acting. Those of you who come from neighbouring countries feel the same way about life. Nevertheless, several years ago, before the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia normalised thanks to China’s initiative and with our active contribution. It was an extremely positive achievement. Later, the People’s Republic of China formulated something similar to our concept for building bridges between the Arab countries and Iran. Incidentally, we have updated our concept several years ago. After that, the Gulf countries started discussing a similar idea. Therefore, I believe that conditions started objectively brewing – after weathering the latest outbreak of military activity, which has allowed us to once again see the danger of such situations – for launching a permanent process, if not creating an organisation.

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, which formulated that concept of collective security and a defence alliance, have pointed out that it is also open to other countries. This not only implies the Gulf countries; Egypt has also been frequently mentioned in this connection. I am confident that if Algeria shows an interest, it will be positively accepted. At some stage, provided this structure also coordinates conditions on which Iran could be involved in this process, it could become the best concrete step in the direction of the concept we formulated. We won’t claim to be the first to formulate the concept, which can be named or renamed as you want, as some are doing right now. This is not the main point. But we see the nascent trend towards people realising a simple fact – we are neighbours and therefore should not create threats for each other.
Regrettably, not everyone in the United States is ready to reinforce this trend. Israel has openly spoken against it, claiming that nothing good will come of it until Iran is crushed. I think life will put everything in its place. Israel and the United States are preparing for elections. We need to reach out to them when it’s most convenient for them to speak, because if we don’t, they will be engaged in a new election cycle.

Question: As is well known, at all times, it is the strong who command respect. By strength, I refer not solely to military capability, but, above all, to diplomatic prowess. In your view, what are the most effective diplomatic measures that any state can and indeed should undertake to ensure that it is treated with due regard and respected on the world stage?

Sergey Lavrov: There exists no universal formula. The approach may vary from case to case. For one state, it may be a demonstration of force; for another – a resolute refusal to engage. Life is more nuanced…

I have already alluded to the analogy of families, where, on occasion, there are quarrels, and at other times, members simply heap contempt upon one another. Such things can manifest themselves in various ways. The principal point is that, in all instances, one must respond if one’s dignity is affronted. And one must respond in such a manner as not to impinge upon another’s dignity without justification. It is not uncommon for disputes and conflicts to arise, so to speak, out of thin air, which, in reality, stem from a collision of legitimate, objective interests. In such circumstances, it is necessary to sit down and negotiate in good faith. The West, regrettably, has lost the ability to reach such agreements, even on an occasional or episodic basis. By and large, the West is notorious for attempting to negotiate through the issuing of ultimatums, advancing demands that are humiliating to many states and which reek of colonialism. In this case, we must recall the calamities that colonialism has inflicted upon our planet.

I have already spoken of Africa’s second awakening, yet it is equally significant that, last year, the UN General Assembly proclaimed December 14 each year as the International Day Against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations. This will not be a mere discussion, but a fully-fledged movement. Incidentally, two years ago, our United Russia party initiated an inter-party movement, For the Freedom of Nations, which convenes its conferences annually – another is scheduled for this year. This movement is dedicated to leveraging inter-party links to draw the attention of the international community and the United Nations to the persistent manifestations of colonialism and neo-colonial practices.

Here, one may act in various ways, but in the example cited by President Putin – “orcas and polar bears” – the matter is unequivocal.

Question: Russia has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions not endorsed by the UN Security Council. In your view, which avenues for the development of international law could, in the long term, reinforce the state accountability for imposing extraterritorial restrictions?

Sergey Lavrov: I would say that, among international legal instruments – none. The West has already exhibited its nihilism towards international law.

If we consider the formal dimension, not so long ago the UN General Assembly proclaimed December 4 as the International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures, and December 14 as the International Day Against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations. There is a General Assembly resolution; yet, as you understand, transforming it into a legally binding instrument is a formidable, if not impossible, task, given that the West remains intent on dictating terms, will resort to the veto, and will prevent its dependents from acceding to such a document.

Nevertheless, there is a way forward. I have already touched upon it in part. We must extricate ourselves from those mechanisms, chains, instruments, and currencies that were, for many decades, promoted to us during the era of globalisation – imposed as tools purportedly guaranteeing justice and, above all, mutual benefit, the lowest possible cost of living, and efficient pricing for goods, services and so forth.

The moment it became necessary to “punish Russia,” all talk of the free play of market forces, the presumption of innocence, and the other so-called hallmarks of fairness under globalisation (according to the American model) was abruptly abandoned.

We have already discussed this topic today. We must transition to our own robust and honest mechanisms, platforms, and instruments. As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasised, we are not opposed to the dollar; it was not we who turned our back on the dollar – we were denied it. And what is it they expect of us now? That we should sit and barter for beads? No, that will not happen.

The Americans and Europeans, the Japanese and their cohorts – all those who adhere to their policies – are, through their own actions, wilfully dismantling the model of globalisation which they themselves conceived, nurtured, cherished, and foisted upon the world. Once it became apparent that they were unable to manage this globalisation effectively, they began – indeed, long before the launch of the special military operation – to impede reforms of the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO, whilst simultaneously deploying sanctions and other restrictions as instruments of blackmail.
I recall that, when Donald Trump was still campaigning for re-election, he vehemently accused Joe Biden of having undermined confidence in the dollar. He claimed that Biden was employing the dollar as a tool of sanctions, that this would backfire on the United States, and that, before long, everyone would be scratching their heads and wondering why they should retain their accumulated wealth in dollars. According to Trump, Biden had taken a criminal step against America.

Yet, once elected, Donald Trump began to accuse BRICS of seeking to slink away from the dollar and to create their own alternatives. He insisted that this must not be permitted and that those attempting it must be punished.

This situation requires composure on our part and a focus on establishing reliable instruments for conducting trade, economic and investment affairs, in such a way that none of our adversaries – and especially none of those who have declared us their enemy – will be in a position to impede us in any way.

Question: As sanction barriers and protectionism grow and international trade becomes more politicised, what opportunities does the Russian Federation see for maintaining openness in international economic relations, and for expanding trade relations with the Global Majority countries?
Sergey Lavrov: We seem to be beating around the bush. I thought we’ve already covered this topic.
We are always open to cooperation with those who are ready to cooperate on equal terms, with mutual benefits and seeking a balance of interests. The overwhelming majority of the countries of the Global South and East are ready for this. The West doesn’t want them to cooperate with us. Western envoys are touring capitals and telling them they should not engage in trade with Russia. We know that the Americans are doing the same. They are discouraging our close partners from maintaining relationships with us – and not for economic reasons any more but simply because they don’t want our partners’ economic capabilities to bring any benefit to Russia whatsoever. They want to reorient these capabilities to themselves.

Aside from Joe Biden’s sanctions, there are Donald Trump’s sanctions. The Trump Administration has extended all the sanctions imposed during the special military operation by Biden. The attempts to “hog,” as we used to say in Russia, the international businesses of Lukoil and Rosneft are happening under Trump. It is no longer the legacy of the previous Democratic administration.

The Americans have different motives. They simply want to do as much as possible in their own favour. Europe is extremely ideologised, as we have said today in the context of Nazism resurgence. Nazism currently prevails in Ukraine, it goes without saying. But it is starting to push its way into other countries, say, Germany. I’ve given examples.

There is only one way to respond. Since globalisation, created by the Americans and into which they have been dragging everybody by persuasion, has now been destroyed by its own creators, we should be bolder in building new spaces where globalisation rules will govern without unilateral whimsical changes. It is exactly what BRICS is doing today.

When we held the summit in Kazan in the autumn of 2024, we proposed an entire series: our own grain exchange, our own payment platforms, and much more. This has to be done under all the current circumstances, including Europe seriously discussing the takeover of the Central Bank funds deposited at Euroclear in Belgium. The Belgians are still resisting. They seem to have some remnants of conscience.

The Russian Central Bank has filed lawsuits. They have won over 18 trillion rubles in our courts. But in any case, it is not an easy story for the Western monetary system, the system of these storages or whatever they are called. We are told that this is the quality of Western decency, including in finances.
We’ve been told: you see, the Russian Central Bank deposited a certain amount with Euroclear – say, 100 billion. According to the contract, these 100 billion will accrue a two percent annual interest. These 102 percent per year are yours, we are not touching them. But the market economy allows earning more than two percent on the same 100 billion. Anything in excess of the two percent is not even yours and never has been and is not supposed to be yours. Therefore, we can transfer these excess earnings to Ukraine completely legally. And they have, several times. But if you are an honest person and analyst, this excess profit was made on your money on the terms you signed when your money was still free to take back. And this case now looks like swindlers get the upper hand. That is why we need to build our own options.

Some say maybe they will eventually get past it and come to their senses, and we will return to mutually beneficial and equal cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated firmly back in 2022, soon after the launch of the special military operation, that we are open to contacts with everybody, including our Western colleagues. But there is no return to the relations that existed before February 2022. Never say never, but my prognosis is that, no such relations will exist through the lifetimes of all the generations present here. We will never believe the West again after its past and present lies. Our attempt to give these Western colleagues a chance finally persuaded us that our current course is the only right trajectory.

Question: Countries’ strategic interests change over time. In your view, what forms the enduring foundation of relations between states? Is it a convergence of interests at a particular point in history, or the ability to genuinely understand each other’s culture, values, history and unique characteristics, even when their positions may differ fundamentally?

Sergey Lavrov: First of all, you have listed almost all the qualities that every self-respecting nation and every self-respecting state needs.

I once tried to reflect on this myself, looking at it through the prism of my own experience. I have a poem called The Ambassadorial Prikaz. It is about those who served in the Ambassadorial Prikaz in the 16th century and carried out the instructions entrusted to them. It contains the following quatrain:
They served their country, feeling its every nerve,
They learned the art of getting along and striking a deal,
They learned to live by giving others the respect they deserved,
And taught others how to always respect Russia.

That is how I put it. But everything you have mentioned is absolutely essential, especially for those whose work involves regular interaction with other countries and political systems.

First and foremost, you need to understand your country’s fundamental goals – its core priorities. There can never be very many of them. They include respect for your roots and traditions, a sense of continuity, respect for older generations, carrying on their work, preserving their memory, and passing these traditions and memories on to future generations. This is particularly important today. I believe the most important thing is to pass on to future generations what our generation, and the other generations represented here, feel about their country and their people – especially at a time when war has been declared on us and there are those who do not want us to preserve everything that our multinational Russian nation is known for.

As young people, you can see that today all kinds of modern devices, social media, podcasts and everything else are widely used. Against this backdrop, the spoken word and live communication are becoming even more valuable and meaningful.

MGIMO University is actively involved in school education – something I fully support and which we began developing together with Anatoly Torkunov – and, I believe, even in preschool education. The Primakov Gymnasium, for example, has preschool classes. And we want to establish another multifunctional educational centre for secondary education. There are also boarding schools and other schools in the Moscow Region that place an emphasis on personal interaction with students, rather than simply pressing a button and being told what a bisector is. I was struck by a commercial I saw on television. A boy asks his father what a bisector is. His father tells him not to be silly and instead asks GigaChat what a bisector is. The neural network suggests that he could have explained it himself. I do not think that is a good thing.

We could talk about this for a long time. But the most important thing, as in Vladimir Vysotsky’s song, is to be a decent person.

Question: What advice would you give to young students who are working hard, doing their best, pursuing their own projects, but still not succeeding? Everyone tells them to keep trying and keep moving forward, but no one tells them how.

Sergey Lavrov: Again, there is no one-size-fits-all advice. If someone is determined to prove themselves but something is not working out, they will focus, look for information online, and work out how to move forward. That is a perfectly worthwhile path and a commendable ambition.

On the other hand, mentorship – I am not sure whether that is what it is called these days – and advice from a more experienced colleague, or perhaps even from a classmate who has already succeeded, still have an important role to play. Perhaps the key is to trust your own judgement. If you have friends or acquaintances in your year or in more senior years who are working on the same subject and have some understanding of it, you can turn to them for advice. Personally, I would be more inclined to form small groups of people with shared interests and hold what we used to call brainstorming sessions. But ultimately, it all comes down to the individual.

When Anatoly Torkunov and I were students, times were difficult, but even then, no one painted us all with the same brush.

Questions: You have already been asked about the economy and economic influence, but economic influence is often not enough for a country, which also needs political influence. Therefore, I would like to ask you how political influence will evolve in our world.

Russia has been consistently speaking against a monocentric world, and has been using the SCO, BRICS and, as you said, other structures, which is bearing fruit. But what would the SCO and BRICS do to bolster this economic momentum? What would the SCO and BRICS do to create global governance mechanisms? And lastly, are our allies – the non-Western countries – ready to follow us in that direction?

Sergey Lavrov: Speaking about global governance, the People’s Republic of China is promoting four global initiatives. One of them is a global governance initiative. Others concern artificial intelligence, which we have already mentioned, a global security concept, and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind. We believe that all these initiatives are useful. Each of them has been formulated generically, with universal methods of advancing, and is based on the assumption that once they are approved, the countries that potentially join these concepts will refine the mechanics, technology, algorithms, and other elements.

We are also promoting several initiatives. President Vladimir Putin said a long time ago, during the third Russia-ASEAN Summit held in Sochi in 2016, that Eurasia, the world’s largest continent, has numerous subregional integration structures, but it is the only continent without a framework organisation that would be open to all Eurasian countries without exception. There are many subregional organisations in Africa and Latin America, but Africa also has the African Union, which unites all countries on the continent, and Latin America has the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). It also has the Organisation of American States (OAS), which includes not only Latin American countries but also the United States and Canada. At one stage, quite long ago, Latin American countries decided that they want their own organisation in addition to the OAS, where they would be able to discuss various issues among themselves, in a cosy, informal setting.
Eurasia did not have such a continental, umbrella organisation. It is obvious that creating an umbrella organisation artificially would be wrong.

Our Kazakhstani friends – President Nursultan Nazarbayev was the first to suggest this initiative – created the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which, apart from SCO countries, also has Israel among its members and the United States as an observer country. They have now proposed turning the conference into an organisation. We agree, but in this case, it is necessary to decide who will have a right to join it, and what the accession criteria will be. If this organisation will focus on confidence-building measures in Asia, countries from the other parts of the world can’t be invited to join it. Besides, we believe that CICA de facto has the Eurasian scope. During the latest SCO summit, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev supported the approach under which the Eurasian contour will be the guideline for shaping this structure.

In addition, Eurasia also has the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the EAEU, the SCO, which has been mentioned a number of times today, as well as the CSTO and ASEAN. ASEAN, the SCO and the EAEU have signed memorandums on developing mutual relations, on holding regular consultations, and on the gradual division of labour. If transport and logistics programmes (for example, between ASEAN and the SCO) overlap, we can launch joint production and joint projects, which would save time and resources.

President Putin has proposed focusing horizontal contacts between Eurasian integration structures on harmonizing conditions for economic activity, synchronising transport and logistics processes, thereby shaping a Greater Eurasian Partnership.

The idea of a Greater Eurasian Partnership resonates with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has a global reach but focuses primarily on the Eurasian continent. Our Chinese friends will give more attention to it now, because routes across the Middle East, via Central Asia and towards Europe are currently drawing increased interest from our Western colleagues, primarily the United States, which don’t want to boost the proliferation of Chinese influence across this continent.

Nevertheless, the process is underway, and there are certain plans, as President Putin has recently said. The International North-South Transport Corridor, which has been halted over the situation around Iran, remains fully on track and will be implemented. There is also the trans-Arctic transport framework built around the Northern Sea Route, and there are plans to reach out to the Far East via the Indian Ocean from the southern point of the North-South Corridor.

There are many plans. As for geopolitical affairs, such processes can provide a material foundation for a continental security system. This sounds like a utopia now, but this could be done on a global scale if we had a structure like the OSCE, which aimed to reconcile the West and the East.

Incidentally, when the idea of a Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe was raised, the Soviet Union believed that its members would be all European countries, roughly up to the Ural Mountains. However, Europeans insisted that it should also include the United States and Canada. Ever since, they’ve been dealing with the fallout. I don’t know how it will all end.

Of course, to say that the OSCE is in crisis is an understatement. It has fully discredited itself. Its principle of consensus has been trampled. All kinds of commissioners for national minorities, human rights, and freedom of the media are playing an absolutely one-sided game, and always against us, because some restraining factors have already been lost.

Speaking about security, we should probably set ourselves an ambitious goal, even if it will take time to achieve it: a Eurasian security architecture open to all countries on our continent but without non-regional players. It is clear that the United States won’t like to be removed from the process. But we should promote and explain the philosophy… It is not a utopia. It could well be implemented at some point.

Our Belarusian friends hold an annual International Conference on Eurasian Security. They will hold its fourth edition in November 2026. We have jointly prepared the Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century for it, roughly in the spirit of the Chinese initiatives I mentioned, that is, as a conceptual framework requiring endorsement from like-minded partners, with further specification in practical projects. It is notable that the previous three conferences held in Minsk were attended by several European, or more precisely, EU countries. These were Hungary (when Viktor Orban was prime minister), Slovakia and Serbia.

I believe that the coordination of initiatives that are offered for a general discussion probably takes more time than the surprise meetings of the European Political Community, which President of France Emmanuel Macron calls for “the day after tomorrow.” It is just another OSCE but without Russia and Belarus. It can be called for the day after tomorrow. They don’t need to think about serious issues there; the only thing they need to discuss is “isolation.”

The preparation of events I am talking about will take more time, but their outcome will certainly be more stable, reliable and lasting.
***
Thank you, colleagues.
I once again congratulate you on the new academic year.
Until we meet again!

Hong Kong
Source: asiatimes.com

New Delhi Declaration envisions an alternative Global South development architecture, but without the institutions to build it

The New Delhi Declaration, adopted unanimously at the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12, will be read mostly through a geopolitical lens: Gaza, Security Council reform, sanctions, the drift toward a multipolar order. That reading isn’t wrong. It just misses the bigger story buried in the document’s sheer bulk.

Of the more than 130 paragraphs BRICS leaders signed off on, only about a third concern geopolitics and security. The rest — nearly a hundred paragraphs — sketch an increasingly dense architecture spanning health, food security, energy, industrial cooperation, science, finance, trade, climate and human development.

In other words, BRICS is no longer just a forum where major emerging economies coordinate positions on a fragmenting global order. It is becoming something closer to a parallel development institution, assembling an alternative economic architecture for the Global South, paragraph by paragraph, one working group at a time.

India’s chairmanship theme this year — “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” — was operationalized through a dedicated Task Force on Growth and Development, built explicitly around those four pillars. BRICS is thus being reorganized, in real time, around a development mandate that now rivals — arguably exceeds, in sheer volume — its original geopolitical purpose.

For emerging and developing economies, including those outside the bloc entirely, that broadening matters. The New Development Bank, described in the declaration as entering its “second golden decade,” is expanding local-currency lending and courting new members.

A proposed BRICS Multilateral Guarantees mechanism aims to lower financing costs for development projects across BRICS and the wider Global South. A Global Value Chains Action Plan running to 2030 commits BRICS to addressing the specific difficulty developing economies face in moving beyond low-value assembly and into higher-value production — precisely the structural transformation problem that has stalled industrial upgrading across much of Asia and Africa.

A proposed BRICS Grain Exchange, still in early discussion, could give food-import-dependent countries a hedge against the kind of price shocks that hit hardest when energy and fertilizer markets seize up simultaneously, as they did in 2022 with the Ukraine war and have since again with the Iran conflict.

Together, it all represents finance, technical cooperation and market access outside the traditional Bretton Woods channel — genuinely useful ballast for smaller economies navigating a more fragmented, more coercive global economy.

That all said, ambition is not capacity to deliver – this is where the New Delhi declaration deserves more skepticism than the celebratory coverage will trumpet. A close look at the operative language across the development chapters and the same handful of verbs do nearly all the work: “welcome”, “note”, “encourage”, “look forward to”, “acknowledge.”

These are the words of an organization announcing activity, not committing resources. Strip away the New Development Bank, which has an actual balance sheet, and a customs cooperation agreement still awaiting member signatures, and almost everything else in the document is a voluntary framework, a compendium of best practices, a working group, a “dialogue,” or a memorandum of understanding with no binding force and no deadline.

This is an old, not new, problem for grand Global South coalitions. The declaration itself invokes the 1955 Bandung Conference as a touchstone for a fairer multilateral order. But Bandung — and the Non-Aligned Movement and G-77 coordination that followed — foundered on exactly this defect: solidarity rhetoric standing in for delivery because no one outside the coalition was tracking specific commitments against specific dates.

Fourteen science and technology working groups, seven industrial cooperation working groups, dozens of new “networks” and “centers of excellence.” That’s a lot of institutional machinery for a grouping with no monitoring framework and no mechanism to hold any member accountable for non-delivery.

This is the trap waiting for any ambitious multilateral bloc once it moves from coordinating positions to building institutions: launching a working group is cheap; funding one is not. Issuing a compendium is easy; changing an outcome is not. The proliferation of soft, voluntary instruments in the New Delhi Declaration isn’t evidence that BRICS has failed. It’s evidence that the organization still hasn’t decided what kind of institution it wants to be.

But that choice can’t be deferred indefinitely. If BRICS wants its development agenda to amount to more than an annually renewed list of good intentions, it needs three things the rhetoric doesn’t yet supply.

Those include dedicated implementation financing, not voluntary best-efforts cooperation; a handful of prioritized, sequenced initiatives carried out well, rather than dozens launched at once; and some form of monitoring — even a simple annual scorecard — against which members and outsiders alike can measure whether the promises made in New Delhi were kept by the time the chairmanship passes to China and beyond.

For countries watching from outside the bloc, the sensible posture is neither dismissal nor uncritical enthusiasm. An additional pole of development finance and technical cooperation is plainly useful in a world where the Bretton Woods institutions remain slow to reform and where unilateral tariffs and sanctions increasingly disrupt trade for economies that had no hand in the disputes that produced them. But usefulness is conditional, and it should be tested rather than taken on faith.

Three benchmarks are worth naming now, precisely because each can be checked with ordinary tools rather than rhetoric: whether export and value-added data show developing economies actually climbing global value chains by the plan’s 2030 horizon; whether guaranteed sovereign or project borrowing shows measurable spread compression against comparable unguaranteed debt; and, at the simplest end, whether the Grain Exchange ever executes a single verifiable trade.

None of these requires access to BRICS’s internal deliberations — only the discipline, largely absent from summit commentary, to name the claim now and come back to grade it later. Until then, the honest verdict is that BRICS has drafted an ambitious development agenda, but has not yet built the institutions capable of delivering it.

Golam Rasul is a professor of economics at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), Dhaka. He contributes regularly on political economy, globalization, and development transitions in Asia. His commentary has appeared in East Asia Forum, South Asia Monitor, Asia Times and leading South Asian newspapers.

South Africa
Source: www.sanews.gov.za

New Delhi, India — The 18th BRICS Summit, held under India’s Presidency, has officially concluded, with leaders adopting the New Delhi Declaration, which reaffirms the spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration, and consensus.

The New Delhi BRICS Leaders’ Declaration sets out the shared priorities, commitments, and direction for BRICS cooperation going forward.

President Cyril Ramaphosa participated in the gathering, where leaders of BRICS countries met in New Delhi, India, from 12 to 13 September 2026 for the XVIII BRICS Summit, held under the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

During a media briefing at the conclusion of the Summit on Sunday, the President congratulated India for hosting a successful gathering and said he looked forward to the next Summit, which will be held in China in 2027.

“What really stood out was our commitment, as BRICS, to focus on advancing global governance of the multilateral system.

“All of us are saying that we adhere to a multilateral system where there is no dominance of one player or country over others; where we want countries that are in BRICS, and indeed countries outside of BRICS as well, to respect one another and to respect the sovereignty of all our countries in the world,” he said.

He stressed that BRICS wants a multilateral system without dominance by any one country.
“For instance, all of us did confirm that we want a multipolar world, a world that will live in harmony and that will advance the interests of each one of us,” President Ramaphosa said.

The BRICS grouping wants to focus on the advancement of all economies and improving people’s lives.
“And that, to me, was the key and central issue because we now live in a world that faces a lot of challenges and conflicts at the geopolitical level," the President said.

South Africa used the Summit to advance its diplomatic and economic priorities, particularly by expanding intra-BRICS trade and investment, promoting industrialisation and value addition, and mobilising investment in African infrastructure aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

During its Presidency, India convened over 400 meetings and engagements involving Ministers, Parliamentarians, Heads of Agencies, officials, experts, businesses, and people in 30 cities across India under the BRICS cooperation framework, contributing to the strengthening of the BRICS strategic partnership.

“We welcome the progress made in enhancing collective resilience, promoting innovation-driven economic growth, advancing sustainable development, deepening people-to-people exchanges, and amplifying the voice of BRICS for greater representation in global governance,” the New Delhi Declaration said.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration, and consensus.

“Building on two decades of BRICS, we further commit ourselves to strengthening cooperation in the expanded BRICS under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, [and] cultural and people-to-people cooperation, and to enhancing our strategic partnership for the benefit of our people through the promotion of peace, a more representative, fairer international order, a reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, sustainable development and inclusive growth.

“We recognise the valuable contribution of Partner Countries to BRICS cooperation. We underscore our strong belief that advancing the BRICS partnership with Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) will further contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity and international cooperation for the benefit of all,” the Declaration said.

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to fostering inclusive, mutually beneficial and development-oriented partnerships with Partner Countries.

“We encourage their increasing participation in BRICS engagements and practical cooperation in areas of shared interest.

“We commend India for hosting the Outreach/BRICS Plus Dialogue segment of the 18th BRICS Summit, which injects new impetus to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity,” the Delhi Declaration said.

The grouping commended the significant progress achieved under India's BRICS Chairship in 2026, under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, which reflects a shared commitment to strengthening BRICS cooperation in addressing common challenges through a balanced, practical, actionable, inclusive, development-oriented and people-centred approach.

“We reaffirm our commitment to advancing cooperation on the thematic priorities, particularly through strengthening capacities, promoting innovation, and advancing sustainable development and resilience,” the Declaration noted.

Having arrived in India on Friday, President Ramaphosa delivered remarks at the BRICS Business Forum focusing on trade and supply chains, agriculture, women-led development, the digital economy and innovation.

The Forum brought together BRICS leaders and business representatives, including members of the BRICS Business Council and BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, as well as investors and entrepreneurs from BRICS countries and partner economies.

The Forum plays an important role in shaping the BRICS economic agenda and strengthening business-to-business cooperation.

On Saturday, 12 September 2026, President Ramaphosa addressed the India-South Africa Business Leadership Roundtable, focusing on enhancing bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

The forum also sought to encourage additional Indian foreign direct investment in key sectors, including pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, critical minerals, and the electric vehicle battery value chain.

Later in the day, he participated in a closed session of BRICS Leaders entitled: “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism.”

The session considered the need for a more inclusive, representative, and responsive global governance architecture, with a focus on reforming the United Nations system, the international financial architecture, and the multilateral trading system.

On Sunday, 13 September 2026, President Ramaphosa delivered a statement during the Summit’s open session for BRICS and invited leaders which focused on India’s Chairship priorities.
READ | SA calls for global oversight of artificial intelligence

— SAnews.gov.za

India
Source: newsonair.gov.in

WHO Director General praises New Delhi Declaration adopted during the BRICS Summit 2026
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has praised the New Delhi Declaration adopted by the BRICS nations during the BRICS Summit 2026.

In a social media post, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, appreciated the commitment to universal health coverage, resilient health systems and the successful conclusion of negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex to the Pandemic Agreement.

Mr Ghebreyesus also praised the efforts of BRICS countries to end Tuberculosis (TB), strengthen the health workforce, digital health, integrate traditional medicine, and deliver health for all. He also expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the warm welcome at the summit.

USA
Source: www.reuters.com

• Summary
• Xi calls for BRICS Special Economic Zone, forum on service trade
• Xi urges stable industrial, supply chains for integrated market
• Modi urges BRICS solutions applicable across Global South
• Putin calls BRICS a driver of a fairer multipolar order

NEW DELHI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Chinese ​President Xi Jinping unveiled on Sunday initiatives in areas ranging from AI to trade to deepen cooperation among the "Greater ‌BRICS" emerging economies, as Beijing seeks to weld the grouping into a practical platform for Global South development.

Cooperation in areas from politics and security to economics and finance are the main focus areas of the grouping, with 2026 chair India and 2027 chair China seeking wider partnership to boost its ​global clout.

The success of the "Greater BRICS Initiative" depends on laying a solid foundation for pragmatic cooperation, Xi told the leaders' ​annual summit in New Delhi, the official Xinhua news agency said.
'Greater BRICS' nations should further co-operate, maintain ⁠the stability of industrial and supply chains, and cultivate an integrated market, Xi told the summit's closing session.

China will take the ​lead in establishing a BRICS AI Open Source Zone to promote cooperation on large language models, AI training and an open AI ecosystem, ​Xi added.

He also proposed a BRICS Special Economic Zone partnership and said China would host a BRICS Service Trade Forum next year to boost trade and investment ties.

EXPANDED ROLE FOR 'GREATER BRICS' GROUPING

BRICS has expanded to include Iran, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates beyond an original membership of Brazil, ​Russia, India, China and South Africa two decades ago that aimed to transform a world order dominated by the United States.

In ​addition, 10 partner countries span emerging economies across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, broadening its reach across the Global South.

China and Russia ‌sometimes ⁠refer to this larger bloc as "Greater BRICS".

BRICS HELPS CREATE FAIRER WORLD ORDER, PUTIN SAYS

The benefits of solutions developed within BRICS should not stay limited to BRICS alone, but should be made adaptable and accessible to meet the needs of the Global South, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in remarks earlier.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called BRICS a powerful driving force towards creating a new, fairer and multipolar ​world order, urging its members to ​find ways to combine the ⁠competitive advantages of their individual economies.

The summit comes amid renewed fighting in the Gulf region, with tit-for-tat attacks by the United States and Iran and Iran-backed Houthis widening the conflict by launching attacks on ​Saudi Arabia.
But the weekend summit scored an important diplomatic goal on Saturday, when it managed to forge ​consensus on a ⁠joint declaration backed by Iran and the UAE.

In general terms, the declaration expressed deep concern over the continued escalation of tension in the Middle East and urged the exercise of maximum restraint.

Separately, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on the sidelines, ⁠in the ​highest-level meeting of the two countries' officials since the start of the conflict.

They ​discussed issues ranging from de-escalation and stability, and efforts to advance regional peace and development.

USA
Source: www.reuters.com

• Summary
• Putin says Western rivals use sanctions, attacks on logistics to preserve dominance
• BRICS is becoming a practical economic partnership, Putin’s envoy says
• Modi and Putin discuss West Asia, Black Sea conflicts impacting maritime trade
• New Delhi is balancing relations across Washington, Moscow, Tehran, Gulf states and Israel

NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Friday to deepen ‌their countries' longstanding ties, with Putin saying the BRICS grouping should build a new platform for global growth free from Western rules.

Modi and Putin held talks in the Indian capital on the eve of a BRICS summit, which Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, among others, are due to attend.

New Delhi is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act as it tries ​to maintain strong ties with the U.S., Gulf Arab states, Russia, Iran and Israel, while suffering the impact of shipping and trade disruptions due ​to the Ukraine and Iran wars.

The BRICS bloc is seeking to raise its profile by influencing international rules and institutions, even as ⁠its members are split over the Gulf conflict with Iran and the UAE on opposite sides.

Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told Reuters that BRICS was transitioning from a ​geopolitical grouping into a more practical economic partnership focused on enabling cooperation between businesses, technology companies and investors, as well as improving payment systems and joint infrastructure.

DEMAND ​FOR REFORM

"We have always been told that competition is a sacred cow, something that must not be touched," Putin told a BRICS business forum event. "Yet, unfortunately, today your Western competitors are trying by any means necessary to regain their former leadership."

"This competition is sometimes assuming unsightly forms," he said, as Modi, Pezeshkian and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa listened. "They even include ​direct physical attacks or the destruction of industrial and logistical facilities, pipelines, and so forth."

Putin said attempts were being made to block international transport corridors and ​seize ships, without elaborating.

"Illegal restrictions are also being imposed, accompanied by threats of so-called secondary sanctions against those who refuse to act in others' interests and instead defend their own ‌national interests," ⁠he said, adding that BRICS would build "a new, sustainable platform for global growth".

Putin's comments echoed those of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors, who expressed serious concerns with what they called the unilateral imposition of trade and finance-related actions, including the raising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules.

RESILIENT ENERGY TIES WITH INDIA

Last year, the BRICS summit drew the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump who threatened an additional 10% tariff on any countries aligning themselves with ​what he called the "Anti-American policies" of ​the BRICS group.

Washington has also threatened ⁠to impose 100% additional tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, including major buyers such as India and China.

Earlier, Modi and Putin "shared perspectives on ... the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region which have impacted ​maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers", a statement from India's foreign ministry said.

"The two leaders ​agreed to remain engaged ⁠in an effort to strengthen further the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries," the foreign ministry statement said.
India, along with China, is one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil, which is seen as helping Moscow replenish its budget since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and was hit with ⁠sweeping Western sanctions.

India ​has sought to resist the pressure to scale back the trade, saying its large population ​and economy need secure, affordable and reliable energy supplies.

India and Russia have said they want to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030 from nearly $70 billion in 2024-25.

Azerbaijan
Source: news.az

Editor’s note: Abulfaz Babazadeh is a scientist, a scholar of Japanese studies, a political observer, and a member of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of News.Az.

The BRICS summit held in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2026 concluded with the adoption of a 140-point declaration. The document outlined cooperation across politics, finance, technology and social policy. Leaders agreed on common positions on several conflicts and economic issues, although many initiatives require further development. (Final declaration)

This was India’s fourth BRICS chairmanship, following those in 2012, 2016 and 2021. Over that period, the grouping itself has expanded considerably: alongside its full members, it now has 10 partner countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Vietnam, Malaysia and Nigeria. This mechanism broadens opportunities for cooperation while maintaining the distinction between partner status and full membership. (Indian government briefing)

Preparations for the summit included more than 400 events across 30 Indian cities. The final declaration therefore brought together the work of ministers, central banks, expert groups and business representatives throughout the chairmanship. (Final declaration)

The economic weight of BRICS is particularly evident in trade. Speaking on 11 September, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the grouping’s merchandise exports had risen from approximately $900 billion in 2003 to almost $6 trillion in 2024. Its share of global merchandise exports doubled over that period, approaching 24%. These figures cover exports to the global market, including buyers outside BRICS. (The Economic Times)

Trade among these economies has also reached a substantial scale. According to a UNCTAD study published in March 2026 covering 10 countries, intra-group merchandise exports totalled $1.17 trillion in 2024, more than 13 times their 2003 level. This reflects long-term trade growth among the economies studied, including periods before they joined the grouping. (UNCTAD)

Dependence on trade with fellow members nevertheless varies considerably. In 2024, Brazil, Russia and Indonesia sent more than 30% of their merchandise exports to BRICS countries. Iran, Ethiopia, Russia and India sourced more than 40% of their merchandise imports from those countries. China remained the largest exporter and importer in intra-group trade. These differences help explain why a shared interest in expanding markets coexists with disagreements over market access and the distribution of benefits. (UNCTAD)

The situation in the Middle East presented the summit’s main diplomatic challenge. Participants agreed to call for maximum restraint and the resolution of differences through diplomacy. According to Reuters, reaching a common position was complicated by the presence of Iran and the UAE within BRICS, given their differing relationships with Washington and the regional conflict’s impact on both countries. Against the backdrop of renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran, achieving consensus became a politically significant outcome in its own right. (Reuters)

The Indian Express reported that securing a compromise between the Iranian and Emirati sides required almost 100 hours of negotiations. Indian diplomats received assistance from China, Russia, Brazil and Egypt. This illustrates how difficult collective decision-making has become within the expanded grouping: an international crisis now directly affects relations among its own members. For New Delhi, preserving a common position became one of the chairmanship’s most notable achievements. (The Indian Express)

The declaration also called for compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza and unhindered humanitarian access, supported full UN membership for Palestine, and endorsed reform of the Security Council to strengthen the representation of developing countries. (Final declaration)

These agreements provide a foundation for further diplomatic work. An agreed call for peace, however, does not in itself bring hostilities to an end. The forum’s practical value will depend on members’ ability to maintain contacts, propose solutions acceptable to the parties and help ensure their implementation. This is where the distinction lies between adopting a declaration and influencing the course of a conflict.

On economic policy, participants advocated a greater role for developing countries in the IMF and the World Bank. This approach was also reflected in the statement issued by finance ministers and central bank governors before the summit. They called for more representative and accountable international financial institutions and expressed concern over unilateral trade restrictions. For BRICS, the issue is the ability to influence development financing rules and decision-making. (Reuters)

On payments, paragraph 90 of the declaration provides for continued work on interoperability between payment channels and the use of national currencies in trade and investment. The document recognises differences in national approaches. This language does not amount to the launch of a single currency or a fully operational common payment system. (Final declaration)

More ambitious ideas were presented at the business forum on 11 September. Vladimir Putin proposed developing an investment platform involving the private sector. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested establishing a joint BRICS reinsurance company with $10 billion in capital to help protect major projects and attract investors. The status of these initiatives matters: they remain proposals, and establishing the institutions concerned would require separate decisions by participating countries. (Financial Express)

The grouping already has a financial institution with measurable results: the New Development Bank. According to the NDB, by the end of 2025 it had approved financing for 139 projects worth a combined $42.9 billion. Its portfolio covers energy, transport, water supply, environmental projects, and social and digital infrastructure. This is the cumulative value of approved financing; it should not be treated as money already disbursed in full to borrowers or as a new package announced at the summit. (New Development Bank)

A decision taken in June 2026 illustrates the scale of individual operations: the NDB approved a loan of up to $1 billion to modernise urban infrastructure in eight major South African municipalities. Such programmes show how financial cooperation can affect everyday life. They also offer a more concrete measure of the bank’s performance: project delivery and infrastructure improvements in borrowing countries. (Reuters)

Further details of the bank’s fundraising emerged ahead of the leaders’ meeting. On 8 September, the NDB priced a 7 billion yuan bond offering in the Chinese market, comprising a 5.5 billion yuan three-year tranche and a 1.5 billion yuan five-year tranche. The bank’s cumulative Panda bond issuance reached 94.5 billion yuan. The transaction demonstrates an existing channel for raising capital in the national currency of a BRICS member. (NDB announcement)

Another concrete outcome of the chairmanship was the launch of the BRICS–NDB Knowledge Portal in Mumbai on 10 September. It is designed to facilitate the exchange of technical materials and experience between working groups and the bank. The initiative progressed from a proposal in February to endorsement by financial leaders in August and its launch in September. This sequence shows how multilateral agreements can become operational tools. (New Development Bank)

The technology agenda was advanced through five initiatives proposed by Xi Jinping. China called for cooperation in open-source artificial intelligence, trade and investment facilitation, digital industry, smart manufacturing, and the development of scientific and technical talent. Specific proposals included a community for open-source AI models, a partnership of special economic zones, a digital cloud platform and an alliance for training engineers. Beijing also announced a BRICS forum on trade in services for 2027. (Xi Jinping’s address)

These proposals connect the technology agenda with manufacturing and foreign trade. Access to software, specialist training and compatible standards could facilitate joint projects. Their economic impact, however, will depend on participation terms, financing and whether businesses across different countries can use the new mechanisms in practice. Announcing a platform alone will not be enough.

India focused on resilience to crises and practical solutions. Narendra Modi announced the creation of an early warning system for infectious diseases and called for commitments to be translated into concrete action. Among the threats he identified were supply chain disruptions and the use of technology and critical minerals as instruments of pressure. (Associated Press)

Materials issued under India’s chairmanship also outlined a digital agriculture cooperation network, centres of excellence in agroecology and a voluntary framework for logistics cooperation. Their objectives include knowledge sharing, the application of digital tools and greater resilience in production. Such areas offer opportunities for gradual cooperation even where members’ political positions differ. (Government of India)

Bilateral talks were also significant. During their meeting on 12 September, Modi and Xi Jinping discussed trade issues, the expansion of exchanges and the maintenance of peace in border areas. China’s account of the talks noted that cooperation concerns the interests of more than 2.8 billion people across the two countries. The scale of this relationship explains why managing differences between India and China matters for the entire BRICS agenda. (Chinese Foreign Ministry)

During talks between Modi and Putin on 11 September, the two sides reaffirmed the goal of increasing Russian–Indian trade from approximately $70 billion to $100 billion by 2030. This is a bilateral target and should not be attributed to the grouping as a whole. It nevertheless illustrates how specific economic cooperation goals are agreed on the sidelines of multilateral meetings. (Reuters)

China will assume the chairmanship and host the next summit in 2027. (Final declaration)

By then, the outcomes of New Delhi can be assessed against several practical indicators: progress on payment solutions, the implementation of infrastructure projects, access to technological cooperation and the preservation of diplomatic channels among members. Trade measured in trillions of dollars and approved financing worth tens of billions demonstrate a substantial economic foundation. The next task for BRICS is to turn this interdependence into more resilient cooperation, allowing joint projects to endure through periods of political disagreement.

News.Az

India
Source: d2jiw2zrmmyqt8.cloudfront.netlink

Transcript of Special Press Briefing on the 18th BRICS Summit

September 12, 2026

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing on the 18th BRICS Summit which began this afternoon.

For this special press briefing, we have with us Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Sudhakar Dalela, to brief us on the developments of the day.

And for this briefing, he is joined by Joint Secretary (Multilateral Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Shambhu Hakki.

With that, I turn over the floor to Secretary (ER) for his initial remarks. Sir, the floor is yours.

Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Well, good evening, everyone. Thank you very much for joining us today. Thank you very much, Randhir, for organizing this press briefing.

The 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit Member Session just got concluded a short while ago. This has been a particularly significant year for BRICS. India assumed the BRICS Chairship in January this year for the fourth time, as BRICS marks an important milestone: the 20th anniversary of its institutionalized cooperation. It was in this context that India sought to build on the work of earlier chairships while focusing on the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” of India's chairship.

Guided by the vision of the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the principle of “Humanity First”, our endeavor has been to make BRICS cooperation more practical, forward-looking, and responsive to the priorities of our people.

As you have seen already, as I mentioned earlier, we had the Member Session this afternoon of the BRICS Summit. We are delighted to welcome all the BRICS leaders from the member countries of BRICS. And tomorrow, we have the open session in which we will also have partner countries of BRICS and also some outreach invitees: countries who are chairing important institutions of global governance and Global South, and also heads of international organizations.

The robust participation reflected the importance attached to BRICS, its expanding engagement with the developing world and the Global South, and the confidence placed in India's chairship. Yet, the Summit itself was only the visible peak of a much longer effort: eight months of sustained work that began when India took up the BRICS Chairship in January this year.

As you know, during the course of the year, we have organized more than 350 meetings, both in-person and virtual, across thematic clusters: ministerial meetings, working group meetings, business sessions, people-centric activities, and initiatives.

Interestingly, 12 September is also observed as the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, an apt backdrop for a conversation on the role of emerging and developing economies in a changing global order.

As I mentioned, the first session, the Member Session, took place today on the theme “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism”. At the session, BRICS leaders spoke on their respective national perspectives, but there was a broad convergence on the need to strengthen multilateralism and to make our global governance institutions more representative, inclusive, effective, and responsive to today's realities.

The leaders reiterated support for comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, with greater representation of developing countries, and for reform of the international financial architecture to give developing countries and the Global South a stronger voice.

The discussion reaffirmed the foundations of BRICS cooperation, anchored in mutual respect, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness, and consensus, with differences addressed through dialogue and consultations. That same approach shaped the exchange on the geopolitical situation. Leaders discussed the impact of ongoing conflicts, economic uncertainties, and underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy, and the peaceful resolution of differences.

Honorable Prime Minister, in his intervention, underlined the importance of strengthening the voice of the Global South and reforming global governance to make it more representative, inclusive, and responsive to contemporary realities. He emphasized the need for BRICS to remain focused on practical cooperation and development-oriented outcomes that can improve the lives of our people.

I am sure all of you have seen the remarks made by Prime Minister in the session this afternoon. Honorable Prime Minister shared four specific initiatives for collaboration within BRICS. Namely: first, he spoke about a BRICS Troika mechanism; Honorable Prime Minister shared the idea of building a BRICS roadmap on global governance reform; he spoke about establishing a seafarer emergency support initiative network to help seafarers in distress around the world; and also he spoke about BRICS Global South negotiation support to build capacities in Global South for officials and young professionals to enhance their skills and capacity on new and emerging areas, such as technology, global rule-making.

The session concluded with the adoption of the New Delhi BRICS Leaders' Declaration, setting our shared priorities, commitment, and direction for BRICS cooperation going forward. The adoption of New Delhi Declaration was among the defining outcomes of India's chairship, demonstrating that BRICS members can foster, can forge consensus on matters of global importance. And in this regard, I would like to thank all our BRICS members who have been working very closely with us throughout the year, in ensuring that we work together and we work on concrete ideas, practical ideas, people-centric ideas which can help our population across our countries.

So, this spirit of collaboration and cooperation among BRICS members was very key, was central in developing the New Delhi Declaration. And I am sure some of you may have seen the details and the concrete initiatives that this declaration captures, reflecting the shared commitment of BRICS members.

The detailed outcomes also are set out in a fact sheet being released today. We have tried to capture our outcomes and initiatives. There are more than 50 practical outcomes across four pillars of our priorities: resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability. And I would invite my friends from media to have a look at it, which will give you the sense of the outcome that we have achieved during our chairship this year across our priorities.

The leaders participated in a joint tree plantation, in line with India's call for “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” and our shared commitment to sustainability, environmental stewardship, and resilient future for generations to come. A postal stamp was released by the BRICS leaders, marking two decades of BRICS' journey.

BRICS leaders also were given a tour of exhibition “Bharat Innovate”, which was curated specially for our BRICS leaders and partners and delegation members and business people who are in Delhi right now for the Summit. And the Bharat Innovate exhibition showcased India's achievements and potential in innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, and development.

Now, let me take a maybe brief moment about the New Delhi Declaration, and I would like to highlight very briefly some of the key takeaways around the four verticals of resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability, which are very important for India and for all BRICS members, and I would say for countries beyond BRICS.

Under the resilience pillar, initiatives focused on strengthening food and health security, including the BRICS Centers of Excellence on Agro-ecology, the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, and the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle, alongside cooperation on mental wellness and disaster risk reduction and management.

Under the pillar of innovation, initiatives to promote technology, research, and entrepreneurship, including cooperation on Digital Public Infrastructure, the BRICS Science and Research Repository, and the BRICS Startup Innovation Fund and Incubator Network were some of the important highlights.

Under the cooperation pillar, practical initiatives to deepen economic cooperation, including the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal, cooperation on global value chains, and the BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework, and even initiatives to promote traditional and indigenous knowledge and traditional complementary and integrative medicine.

Under sustainability pillar, cooperation on smart grids, energy storage, climate-resilient urban infrastructure, and sustainable urban mobility, as well as initiatives to promote sustainable lifestyles and climate-resilient agriculture were important highlights.

I would like to also say that these initiatives reflect the broader thrust of India's chairship to make BRICS more people-centric and practical and solution-oriented in terms of outcomes, which can deliver tangible benefits for people across our BRICS nations.

I would like to also say that in the outcome document, if you see the New Delhi Declaration, BRICS countries have unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. BRICS leaders have also condemned in the strongest term the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir that took place last year.

I would like to also say draw your attention to the fact that New Delhi Declaration also reaffirms BRICS' commitment to the reform of global governance institutions and to a more representative and inclusive multilateral system. In this regard, BRICS has spoken very clearly about the reform of UN Security Council and the candidature of India and other BRICS members in that area.

All in all, I would say that four-five key dimensions of India's BRICS chairship, if I were to categorize, I would say that it has been a year of robust participation and engagement in meetings—more than 350 meetings we have organized this year.

The second thing I would say is that we have really worked together in the spirit of partnership and collaboration to deliver practical, development-oriented outcomes.

The third thing for India, I would say, it has been a whole-of-India, whole-of-nation's effort, in which we have brought together central government, state government, industry, academia, youth, civil society, and communities, with BRICS engagement organized in more than 30 cities across India.

I would like to also say that it has been a people-centric chairship of India this year. The spirit of humanity-first has informed our priorities throughout the year. This is reflected in the BRICS Solidarity Run, BRICS Film Festival, BRICS Youth Summit, BRICS Artisan Bazaar, which is ongoing right now in Delhi, and I invite all of you to participate in that and see how BRICS artists are showing their craftsmanship, and it's a really fascinating curated exhibition.

Finally, I would say that India has worked with BRICS members to ensure that the priorities and aspirations of the Global South receive greater attention in the emerging global order.

I would like to also say that during the chairship of India, we have also tried to showcase India's heritage, culture, and practical, scalable solutions in areas such as DPI, innovation and entrepreneurship, disaster resilience, and traditional knowledge to our participants and guests who have come for various meetings throughout the year.

Looking ahead, India remains fully committed to the outcome of the summit and to the New Delhi BRICS Leaders' Declaration. The true measure of a chairship is not simply the number of meetings that are held; it is the quality of participation, the ability to build consensus, and outcomes that are created.

We believe that the extensive engagement during India's chairship this year, the New Delhi Declaration, and more than 50 practical outcomes that we have weaved together throughout the year provide a strong basis, strong foundation for the next phase of BRICS collaboration.

In this regard, I would like to once again underline and thank, actually, all the BRICS members and partner countries for working very, very collaboratively throughout the year, and for their active and constructive participation during India's chairship. The New Delhi Declaration is a clear manifestation of their spirit of collaboration, their spirit of building consensus, and spirit of partnership, unity, and solidarity.

The detailed outcomes, as I mentioned, are reflected in the factsheet that is being made available to you through technological means.

I would like to conclude by saying that we are delighted with the participation of BRICS Leaders' in the Summit today, and we are extremely thankful for their spirit of partnership and collaboration, and in helping us to bring all this initiative together in the form of New Delhi Declaration.

The stocktaking by BRICS leaders today of what we have achieved together and the political direction that we have received from them today will continue to inspire and guide us as we take BRICS partnership ahead.

I think I have spoken enough. I would like to stop here, and I'll be very happy to respond to a few questions. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, sir. With that, we open the floor for questions. Just to let you know that we have the joint declaration as also the factsheet posted on our website. As you ask your question, please keep yourself brief, and please do introduce yourself. We'll take couple of questions together and then come for the second round. We'll go first with our friend from Egypt. Please.

Suzy El-Geneidy, Al-Ahram Al-Arabi: Hello, thank you. I'm Suzy El-Geneidy, Deputy Chief Editor of Al-Ahram Al-Arabi magazine and website. First of all, I would like to congratulate India for such a successful summit, actually. My question concerning, if there were any tackling in the discussion concerning dealing between the countries member in the BRICS with national currency? And is there any thinking in the future, in the coming future, concerning having a currency like the euro in the EU countries, between the countries / members of the BRICS? Thank you.

Vineeta Pandey, The Asian Age and The Deccan Chronicle: My name is Vineeta Pandey. I represent The Asian Age and The Deccan Chronicle. Sir, I add to the question asked by Suzy. You know, Mr. Putin has been constantly talking about having trade in local currency. Because in the joint declaration, we see it point number 115 that New Development Bank has been left to take care of all these issues, but is there any momentum to have trading in local currency?

Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express se. Mera sawal ye hai ki jo New Delhi Declaration hai, iske zariye kya jo West mein yuddh chal raha hai do countries ke beech mein, uska koi rasta niklega ki yahan se shanti ka ek prayas wahan pe jaake phalibhoot ho?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. My question is, through the New Delhi Declaration, is there any possibility of finding a way forward for the war currently going on between the two countries in the West, so that an effort for peace initiated from here can eventually bear fruit there?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Kahan ki baat kar rahe hain aap?

[Approximate Translation: Audio in Hindi] Which issue are you referring to?

Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Main Iran aur uski baat kar raha hoon, West Asia ki.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] I'm talking about Iran and the conflict in West Asia.

Sidhant Sibal, WION: Hi, Sir. Sidhant from WION. My question is, how difficult it was for the Indian side to bring the two parties, the Iranian and the Emiratis, together, because it is seen as a big breakthrough. How did India achieve that? And we've heard that it took almost like 4:00 AM in the morning. If you can give us more tidbits about it.

Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu: Suhasini Haidar from The Hindu. I wanted to add to Sidhant's question to ask specifically which other countries helped India in this consensus? Did Prime Minister Modi himself reach out to the Russian and the Chinese leadership? And how did Iran, which has so far made a point of saying it wanted a mention of the attack on Iran by the US and Israel on February 28th to be in the document, agree to a document that does not mention Iran or the UAE in it?

Mentesnot Nigussie: First of all, thank you for the opportunity. This is Mentesnot Nigussie, a business journalist and editor based in Ethiopia. So currently, there is a growing division between the BRICS member countries. So, I would like to know the implication of this New Delhi Declaration. What is its implication in addressing this divisions between the BRICS members countries? So, I also try to go through this New Delhi Declaration, and one of the main topics that highlighted is geopolitical representation of the developing countries. So, in light of this, how do you see the role of BRICS in Ethiopia's push to access, you know, a reliable port? Thank you.

Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much for these questions.

I think the first two question was about trade in local currency and what BRICS countries are doing in this regard. I would like to just mention that discussion on trade settlement in local currency has been underway for some time in BRICS. It's not a new subject, maybe more than over a decade we have been discussing it.

We believe that local currency settlement is a practical mechanism to reduce transaction costs in bilateral trade, and this has been encouraged as a complementary to global payment and settlement system, improving overall global trade across nations.

You also asked a question about BRICS currency, and I would like to say that there is no proposal in the BRICS for BRICS currency as of now.

And I would like to say that all these questions about trade in local currency and other payment system, the focus is how can we do more intra-BRICS trade and how we can engage with the global business community more actively and reduce transaction costs.

And we are trying to develop bilaterally or within BRICS frameworks which can help address these questions. These questions are part of the Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors track, and I'm sure they will be able to give you more precise information about this initiative. But that is to answer your question on settlement of trade in local currency.

There were two questions about the Middle East and West Asia situation, and how we could forge consensus and bring countries together to reflect the perspective of BRICS country as a whole. And I would like to say that, as I mentioned earlier, during our chairship, what we have seen and what we have managed to achieve working together is to ensure that every member is able to share its perspective and bring new ideas on the table. And we then discuss it threadbare and try to see how best all of us can work together among ourselves, how can we frame the requirements of Global South in a manner which is visible on a global scale, on the on the world stage, and how can we highlight the aspirations of Global South effectively.

In that context, I would say that in the preparation for the BRICS Summit, we have been discussing these issues for some time. I think it is the essence of the BRICS view … is captured in para 28 of the New Delhi Declaration.

Yes, in a grouping like BRICS, where we have members with diverse development experiences, diverse economic systems, it is important that we allow discussions to evolve, emerge. And we, as chair, have provided a forum for very, very transparent discussion among us, and we have ensured that that everybody's comfortable expressing their national perspective. And then within that framework, we try to build consensus and see which are the landing zones, which are which are the comfort areas. Ultimately, the declaration can only represent what is common denominator. Of course, each one of us may have our national position.

So, I would say that we are very happy that we have an agreed approach on West Asia, and the centerpiece of that approach is that we all believe that dialogue and diplomacy should be the guiding parameter for addressing any conflict, any situation which requires solution. And that is the only way to build lasting peace, security, and stability in any part of the world.

So that is where we are on the issue of Middle East and West Asia. And as I said, as BRICS Sherpa for India, I'm very pleased that we could bring everybody together and facilitate dialogue in a very objective and transparent manner.

I think I have answered these four sets of questions. I hope I have not ignored any question that that were raised in the first round itself. I must also say that that the fact that in every meeting—and you have 22 ministerial tracks in BRICS, you name a sector and you have a ministerial track, a focus track which has been working in those areas for years—and in every meeting, I would say, we have we have managed to get very effective participation from our BRICS members. And that also speaks of India's convening power, the trust that BRICS members have on India's ability to steer discussion in a very transparent and objective manner and to build bridges and forge consensus. So, we are very happy with this cooperation that we have achieved from our BRICS members, in some cases partner countries also. Thank you.

Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): I think, yes, I missed the question from our friend from Ethiopia. As I mentioned, if you look at the factsheet that we have issued, which lists 50 practical outcomes under Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability pillar, if you look at the New Delhi Declaration, you will find that the attempt is to really frame collaboration on development agenda. And that agenda also resonates very well with our partners in Africa or Asia, in Global South. India has been sharing its development experience and expertise through various initiatives with the Global South countries, and we are also learning from our Global South members in different sectors. And that is the spirit of BRICS in which we can learn from each other. We bring different experiences.

I think it was discussed in the closed session today that this diversity is also the strength of BRICS. And we celebrate that diversity. And through discussion and dialogue, the fact that we could forge consensus across every matter that is on the agenda of BRICS as a whole, around its three verticals—political and security, economic and financial, and people-to-people collaboration gives us a tremendous satisfaction that we could achieve this working together with our BRICS members. Thank you.

Ekaterina Fomina, TV BRICS International Media Network: Yeah, thank you very much. Your Excellencies, good evening. TV BRICS International Media Network. So, this year, BRICS celebrates its 20th anniversary. Which areas do you consider to be the most prospective for strengthening cooperation within the grouping for the next decade?

Sahil Pandey, ANI: Sir, I am Sahil Pandey from ANI news agency. The New Delhi Declaration expressed concerns over the unilateral tariffs and non-tariff measures. Did BRICS countries reach common understanding on how to respond to the growing use of unilateral tariffs in global trade? Thank you.

Manish Chand, India Writes Network: Manish Chand, India Writes Network. Sir, coming to the earlier question of bridging differences on Middle East peace, was there any burning of midnight oil? And how much was Prime Minister Modi personally invested in, you know, in this diplomatic coup of sorts? And number two, going forward, will there be any BRICS-led initiative on promoting peace in West Asia? Thank you.

Sudhi Ranjan, Bloomberg: Thank you, sir. Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg, sir. As the BRICS Summit was happening, the situation in West Asia changed considerably and may have a very severe effect on energy supplies to all BRICS members. Did this come up in the discussions? If you could give us an understanding on that, sir?

Unidentified Speaker, CGTN, China Global Television Network: Thank you very much. I'm with CGTN, China Global Television Network. We know that this is the first time in seven years that Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited India and attended the BRICS Summit and had the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi. And just now in his speech, he said that BRICS should be a pioneer in advancing innovation-driven development and help steer the world toward a more just and an equitable international order. So, as two important BRICS members and major voices of the Global South countries, how do you see India and China working together in advancing these goals? Thank you very much.

Madhurendra, News Nation: Sir, Madhurendra main News Nation se. BRICS declaration mein khas taur pe Pahalgam aatanki hamle ka zikr kiya gaya hai. Aatankwad ke har swaroop ko nakara gaya hai. Kya baat-cheet ke dauran cross-border terrorism ka jo mudda hai, usko bhi uthaya gaya? Aur yeh bhi dekha gaya ki jab Pahalgam aatanki hamle ki baat hum kar rahe hain, toh Operation Sindoor ke dauran Pakistan ko Cheen ka support mila tha, yeh already public domain mein hai. Kya yeh bhi charcha ka ek mukhya bindu raha hai?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Madhurendra from News Nation. The BRICS Declaration specifically mentions the Pahalgam terrorist attack and condemns terrorism in all its forms. Was the issue of cross-border terrorism also raised during the discussions? And it is already in the public domain that China supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. When we are talking about the Pahalgam terrorist attack, was this also a key point of discussion?

Amrashree Mishra, ANI: Sir, I'm Amrashree Mishra from ANI. So, my question is, honorable Prime Minister highlighted four initiatives earlier today. Could you please elaborate on the Seafarers Emergency Support Network? When can we expect implementation to begin on it?

Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much once again for these very, very useful important questions. I think I missed to answer the question about West Asia, Middle East in terms of how did we achieve consensus of this nature and who were involved in building that consensus. As I mentioned, BRICS is a large grouping, of course, of emerging markets and developing economies, and when we try to work and forge consensus on important matters of global importance, obviously, these consultations require conversations at various levels: Sherpa level, which I steer, the Foreign Ministers, and the leaders. So, I would say that throughout the year, we have been engaged with our BRICS members at various levels, and only because of that engagement—and I would like to underline this word, engagement at various level—that has enabled us to forge consensus on this particular matter in terms of reflecting the views of BRICS countries in the New Delhi Declaration in para 28.

I think a colleague asked about BRICS at 20. As you know, the first meeting of the BRICS took place in New York on the margins of UNGA in 2006, and we have issued postal stamp to celebrate two decades of BRICS journey together. Now, how BRICS will unfold in the coming years, what will be the important priorities, I do not have a crystal ball, but what I would say is that if you look at the outcomes of India chairship and previous chairship also, every chair brings try to continue what has been started by previous chairship but also bring new focus.

During our chairship, the theme was “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, with an underlying theme of people-centric approach to our work. And I really request all of you to please study the factsheet that we are going to share with you, or may have shared with you already.

And when you look at the outcomes that we have achieved, that gives you a sense of direction in which BRICS countries would like to go. Apart from matters regarding reform of global governance, about which I spoke, our Prime Minister spoke about it in the closed session today, and also other important matters … either fight against terrorism, or how do we work together with Global South and make sure that the institutions of global governance represent the voice of Global South.

So, all these matters, to my mind, are important. I can't sort of put a hierarchy to these, this set of outcomes. But I would like to really invite you to look at the New Delhi Declaration and also our factsheet that we have prepared, just to facilitate your focus in terms of looking at these outcomes.

I think there was a question about the unilateral tariff measure, and, and I would like to say that on this matter—unilateral coercive measures, unilateral tariff measures, unilateral measures, unilateral environmental measures—I think BRICS has had a very consistent position ] on this theme. We have taken a very clear position in the BRICS that any measure which is contrary to international law or contrary to WTO law … all measures which affect trade should be in line with the international law. So, so I would invite you to look at para 22 of the New Delhi Declaration, which will give you a full flavor of where BRICS stand on the issue of unilateral coercive or unilateral tariff measure.

I think I have answered the question of Manish ji about the investment from our leadership. The overall chairship of India this year has been grounded in the Prime Minister's vision, which he laid out at the Rio Summit last year, where he said, “We have to look at outcomes in BRICS which resonate with the people. Unless people see benefit of what we do in BRICS, then it is doing something concrete.”

So, with that inspiration and that vision of our Prime Minister, we have tried to focus on people-centric outcomes, development-centric outcomes, and our Prime Minister spoke about recalibrating BRICS through “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, the acronym. And, and so our focus has been to, to work under the guidance of Honorable Prime Minister and EAM during our chairship.

So, of course, our leadership has been deeply invested during the chairship as to how we take it forward. And as a result of that only, through that political guidance … clear direction from our leadership, we have managed to, to secure a very robust New Delhi Declaration, which has important outcomes and position of BRICS on multiple matters of importance to BRICS and beyond.

I think there was a question about energy supplies in the context of West Asia. I mean, these matters did come up. I mean, we have a sort of a very important track on energy also within the BRICS, but in the context of geopolitical situation, these matters are discussed.

The economic consequences of geopolitical challenges is something where BRICS members have engaged throughout the year. And if you look at the paragraph 28, in which we have tried to capture the view of BRICS members on this matter. We have articulated very clearly that all of us, have to work together to maintain smooth flow of global trade, supply chains, and energy supplies, which are in accordance with the international law, of course. So, this is an important matter for all of us, and we will continue to engage with BRICS members going forward as well.

I think our Chinese colleague mentioned about innovation and how India and China can work together. As I mentioned, innovation is the central theme of our chairship. And the fact that we have curated a special exhibition for the BRICS leaders and participants and the business people who are participating in the BRICS Business Forum underlined the fact that innovation is very, very close to our heart in India. We do recognize the importance of innovation for rapid development in India and BRICS nations, and we do have active collaboration within the BRICS already.

I spoke about BRICS Incubator Network, which is linked to innovation; we are talking of BRICS Startup Innovation Fund. And so, these are very important outcomes of our chairship on innovation, and we would like to pursue collaboration with China and with other BRICS nations going forward.

On the question of seafarer, as I said, this Honorable Prime Minister has articulated very clearly when he proposed the idea of a mechanism through which we can assist seafarers if they are in distress, and how we can work collaboratively to assist them is something that we would like to pursue from now onwards.

And, and I'm very confident that we would get good support on this very important matter for India and for many other countries in the world.

Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): I think on terrorism … my colleague is reminding me that perhaps I missed the question on terror. I think, as I mentioned to you, the BRICS leaders have taken a very clear stance on condemning terrorism in all its forms, and that also includes cross-border terrorism. And I would like to invite you to look at the New Delhi Declaration, which has very, very clear articulation of BRICS members on this matter of fight against terrorism.

There is also, I would say, a strong outcome, I would say, and consensus on the financing of terrorism also. And I would request all of you to please look at in detail relevant paragraphs in New Delhi Declaration. But we are very happy that BRICS has spoken strongly, condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Thank you.

Daniel Alling, Swedish Radio, Stockholm: Yes. Daniel Alling from Swedish Radio, Stockholm. There's a lot of formulations in the declaration about the need for diplomacy instead of war. One of your members is still fighting a war, killing people in Ukraine. Has the BRICS Summit tried to convince Russia to stop that war and focus on diplomacy instead? Thank you.

Unidentified Speaker, Al-Dostor Newspaper: Thank you. Al-Dostor Newspaper (unclear audio) … strategic location connecting between continents. So, how can BRICS make benefit from such location? Also, Egypt stressed that the importance of maintaining stability and freedom of national navigation. So, what role can BRICS regarding this point? Thank you.

Brahma Prakash Dubey, Zee News: Sir, main Brahma Prakash Dubey hoon Zee News se. Mera sawaal yeh hai ki ismein UN reforms ki baat hai jo declaration mein, toh Security Council mein jo sudhaar ki baat hai, usme samarthan kya Cheen… iske maayne yeh hain ki Cheen bhi kya Bharat… Bharat ki jo hai sthaayi membership ka samarthan karta hai Suraksha Parishad mein? Kya iske yeh maayne hain? Clarity agar de paayein aap. Thank you.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Brahma Prakash Dubey from Zee News. My question is regarding the UN reforms mentioned in the declaration. With regard to the proposed reforms in the Security Council, does China's support imply that China also supports India's permanent membership of the Security Council? Is that what this means? Could you please provide some clarity on this? Thank you. Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint: Thank you, Secretary.

Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. Just wanted to follow up on the question on Ukraine because there really isn't any clear mention of Ukraine in the joint declaration which was found in the previous joint statement from Rio. So, what was the sense behind why Ukraine was dropped? And also on global reforms, South Africa has been mentioned alongside Brazil and India in past BRICS statements. And in this statement, it says Brazil and India specifically and no mention of South Africa when it comes to greater UN reforms and engagement. So, any reason why South Africa in particular has been dropped from the statement? Thank you.

Yvonne, LN24 International: Thank you. I'm Yvonne from LN24 International. My question is, we heard President Putin clearly saying that India is our country and an enemy of India is also like going to go against Russia. Now, speaking on that, does it mean that—because there's also been talks on defence—does it mean that the BRICS nations will at some point, I don't know anytime soon, given the growing multipolarity of the world and also the geopolitical military kind of like warfares that are going on, does it mean that BRICS nations, are they considering somehow also having that kind of like defence pact, like a global NATO? If one nation is in trouble, they will come together against that nation. And also, in addition to that, I also wanted to find out: the BRICS Pay, does it automatically eliminate SWIFT or this is just going to be a competition that we will be seeing growing? Thank you.

Neeraj, News18 India: Sir, Neeraj hoon News18 India se. Aaj ka jo satr tha woh inclusive vaishwik governance aur multilateralism pe tha. Aur jaisa ki BRICS Declaration mein Suraksha Parishad vistar aur UN mein reforms ki baat ki gayi hai, toh mera sawal yeh hai ki jo do permanent member hain BRICS ke jo UN mein, UNSC mein, unka paksh kya raha? Dono deshon ke Rashtrapatio ne kya kaha is masle par? Aur ab tak jo baatcheet rahi BRICS Sammelan ke dauran, un baithako mein kya charcha hui? Kya Cheen aur Russia ki taraf se Bharat ke permanent membership ki daavedari ko samarthan kiya gaya?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Neeraj from News18 India. Today's session focused on inclusive global governance, and multilateralism. As the BRICS Declaration mentions the expansion of the Security Council and reforms in the United Nations, my question is: what position did the two permanent members of the BRICS in the UN Security Council take on this issue? What did the Presidents of the two countries say about it? And what discussions took place on this matter during the meetings held throughout the BRICS Summit? Did China and Russia support India's claim for permanent membership of the Security Council?

Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Okay, thank you once again for these questions. I think I'll try to respond to these questions. I think there were a few questions about the reform of UN Security Council. So, I would like to address those … that theme first.

So, as I mentioned earlier, not only in the New Delhi Declaration, but also in the discussion in the closed session today, there was a clear convergence that we need to focus clearly on UN reforms, UN Security Council reform.

And in that context, BRICS members have articulated their position in the New Delhi Declaration. And I would like to invite your attention to para 13, where we have clearly said that the BRICS members recognize the legitimate aspirations of African countries. Since there was a question about African candidature. And in the context of South Africa, you have the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration, where there is a African position captured in these two documents.

So, in our declaration, we do recognize that emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America should play greater role in international affairs. But in the context of UN Security Council, there is a specific reference to Africa as well. There is also a clear reference to previous BRICS consensus, which was captured in the BRICS meeting in Beijing and thereafter in Johannesburg, where both China and Russia, who are the permanent members of the UN Security Council, they have reiterated their support to the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN, including its Security Council. So, that is where we are in terms of the UN Security Council reform and the views of BRICS as a whole and of its membership.

There was a question about Egypt. So, of course, we are delighted to have Egypt as member of BRICS as part of the recent expansion. And I would like to also say that Egypt, although it is a new member, has been participating very, very actively in the BRICS meetings and engagements. And we are very happy to the Government of Egypt and all its constituents who have wholeheartedly supported India's chairship and our priorities and have helped us forge consensus across sectors. So, Egypt is playing a very, very active role, I would say, in BRICS, and we look forward to even greater role of Egypt in BRICS grouping in terms of our sectoral collaboration in different areas.

There was a question about security and, I would only say that, as I mentioned number of times, BRICS has three verticals, of course: political, economic, and people-to-people collaboration. And our focus … certainly during our chairship, the focus has been to prioritize development agenda, development cooperation, development-oriented initiatives that can help people's life, can directly relate to people, whether it's trade, or investment, agriculture, health, or technology. So that is, our focus, and we would like to continue building on that theme. And I'm very confident that in the coming times also, we will continue to enhance our collaboration on the development side of partnership.

I think I have tried to answer most of the questions. And there was some question about the, the BRICS position on geopolitical conflicts. I think BRICS has very clearly articulated its preference for dialogue and diplomacy as a guiding parameter for addressing tensions, addressing conflict, and this has been also reflected very clearly in the New Delhi Declaration in multiple places actually, in para 28, in para 23, I think, if I'm not mistaken. We believe in adherence to international law, peaceful settlement of dispute, the critical importance of UN Charter.

And that, I would say, is something which BRICS and its members continue to articulate, and I would not like to go to specific issues, specific geopolitical matters that are before us.

I hope I have attempted to respond to all the questions Randhir. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, sir. With that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this press briefing. We shall keep you updated with rest of the developments of today, as also tomorrow. So, with that, thank you very much for your participation.

New Delhi
September 12, 2026

USA
Source: www.reuters.com

• Summary
• Relations recovering after 2020 border clash
• Leaders to tackle trade imbalance, New Delhi says
• Bilateral trade reaches new high, says Xi

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - India and China's leaders pledged on Saturday to build up business and transport ‌links, New Delhi said, as both rebuild ties badly damaged by a 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of a summit of the BRICS group of emerging nations in ​New Delhi — Xi's first trip to India in seven years.

Military tensions have eased, but businesses in both ​countries say they continue to face hurdles, including red tape, visa delays and restrictions on selling ⁠industrial equipment.

"The two leaders ... underscored the need to further promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and ​greater mobility between the two countries," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.
"On economic and trade ​relations, they underlined the need to address each other’s concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access," it said.

Bilateral trade reached a record $155.6 billion in 2025, according to ​Chinese customs data.
China has become India's largest source of imports, with Indian purchases from China rising ​to about $132 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year. India's exports to China remain much smaller, leaving New Delhi with a trade ‌deficit of ⁠more than $100 billion.

Xi said China has always viewed and developed China-India relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Institutional exchanges between the two countries are gradually being restored, the list of areas for cooperation is growing and bilateral trade has reached a new high, ​Xi said according to Xinhua.
China ​and India fought ⁠a brief but brutal border war in 1962, and their relationship soured again after the 2020 border skirmish killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

Ties ​began recovering at the end of 2024 after Xi and Modi agreed ​to end ⁠their military stand-off in the western Himalayas.

Irritants remain as both countries continue to maintain substantial military deployments in the Himalayas and border talks make slow progress.

Modi said that peace in the border areas remained ⁠an ​essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations, according ​to the Indian statement.

The nuclear-armed neighbours share a roughly 3,800-km (2,400-mile), largely unmarked frontier.

USA
Source: www.reuters.com

MUMBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Finance ministers and central bank governors of BRICS countries have called for reform of global developmental financial institutions such as the International ​Monetary Fund and World Bank, seeking a stronger voice for emerging ‌market economies.

"With the growing share of emerging market and developing economies in global output and growth, reform of global economic governance remains a consistent BRICS priority," finance chiefs ​of BRICS countries said in a joint statement issued late ​on Thursday.

"We will continue to strengthen coordination among BRICS members to ⁠make international financial institutions more representative, transparent and accountable," they said.

India ​will host the BRICS Leaders' Summit this weekend, with leaders from Russia, China ​and Iran due to attend. The summit in New Delhi comes more than six months after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, a BRICS member since ​2024.

The rise in oil prices as a result of the conflict has ​added to pressure on emerging economies that have also felt the impact of volatility ‌in ⁠trade tariffs imposed by the U.S.

"We continue to have serious concerns with the unilateral imposition of trade and finance-related actions, including the raising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, which distort trade and are inconsistent with World Trade ​Organisation rules," the ​finance chiefs' statement ⁠said.

While acknowledging the work done by the BRICS payment task force, the finance chiefs pushed for progress in ensuring ​greater interoperability of payment systems across member nations.

"We encourage ​the BRICS ⁠Payment Task Force to continue discussions, building on the ongoing work, to facilitate practical solutions for cross-border payments among BRICS countries, which are fast, low-cost, ⁠more ​accessible, efficient, transparent, and safe," the statement said.

India ​will push for progress on linking digital currencies across BRICS countries, two sources familiar with the ​discussions told Reuters earlier this week.

Russia
Source: brics-plus-analytics.org

The BRICS summit in India delivered today the final declaration approved by all core members of the bloc. The declaration builds on some of the key tracks of BRICS development from the past several years, while also launching new initiatives prioritized by India during its chairmanship. On some of the issues such as the BRICS payment systems and the operationalization of the BRICS CRA arrangement the declaration keeps open the pathways for further progress; at the micro-level of supporting new business development and SMEs, the bloc approved the further exploration of initiatives such as the Invoice Discounting Mechanism. Overall, as expected the thrust of the new initiatives during this year’s summit tended to focus on supporting BRICS business cooperation at the micro-level of companies and priority sectors. Aside from the adoption of the Final declaration, one of the most important developments in the summit had to do with the initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create the BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism that would be predicated on the operation of a BRICS Troika arrangement.

In the beginning of the declaration (para 3), BRICS leaders acknowledge the importance of the partnership belt members, with a commitment “to fostering inclusive, mutually beneficial and development-oriented partnership… [as well as their] increasing participation in BRICS engagements and practical cooperation in areas of shared interest”. Para 4 of the Declaration underscores the importance of the Outreach/BRICS Plus Dialogue segment of the 18th BRICS Summit, “which injects new impetus to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity”.

With respect to the WTO (para 20), the final summit statement calls for the re-launching of the full-fledged operation of the organization’s dispute settlement body, while reaffirming “unwavering support for reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to strengthening a non-discriminatory, open, equitable, transparent, fair, inclusive, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core…” The statement expresses strong support for the WTO accession of Ethiopia and Iran, while also acknowledging China’s important contribution to supporting the economies of the Global South via the expanding of its zero-tariff treatment to cover 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties.

With respect to the discussions on the creation of a BRICS payment system (para 90), the Declaration acknowledges “the efforts of the BRICS Payment Task Force (BPTF) towards exploring pragmatic solutions for efficient cross-border payment mechanisms, drawing on the guidance, provided by us in the Kazan and Rio Declarations, on the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative”. It also calls for the BPTF “to continue discussions, building on the ongoing work, to facilitate practical solutions for cross-border payments among BRICS countries, which are fast, low-cost, more accessible, efficient, transparent, and safe”. In effect, the statement leaves open scope for further progress in building consensus as well as exploring the technical possibilities of CBDC inter-operability across BRICS members.

With respect to the operationalization of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) (para 97), the statement notes: “We look forward to timely completion of the ninth CRA Test Run, and release of the seventh edition of the BRICS Economic Bulletin on the theme “Global Economic Uncertainties and Implications for BRICS”. We value the participation of new BRICS members who have expressed interest in joining the CRA and we look forward to timely completion of discussions on onboarding them on a voluntary basis and according to country specific circumstances”. Again, as with CBDC inter-operability more time is needed to build sufficient support for the BRICS CRA reform to be expedited – this process if it does move ahead decisively could provide an important impulse to the expansion in the use of national currencies and greater South-South economic cooperation.

In paragraph 138 towards the end of the Summit Declaration, BRICS members underscored “the need for outcome oriented enhanced coordination, continuity and support for a long-term institutional development”. In this respect, the statement welcomed the progress on the establishment of BRICS Online Archival Database and called for its early operationalization for the benefit of the bloc’s institutional development.

The BRICS 2026 Summit Final Declaration can be accessed via the following link: https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/brics-new-delhi-declaration-building-for-resilience-innovation-cooperation-and-sustainability-september-12-2026/?comment=disable

Aside from the adoption of the summit declaration, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Opening Remarks during the 18th BRICS Summit Session unveiled his key proposal on the BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism. This proposal involves the launching of a BRICS Troika mechanism that brings together the past year’s, current year’s and next year’s chair in the bloc to ensure greater continuity in BRICS initiatives and a more rigorous monitoring framework of implementation of BRICS undertakings. India’s Prime Minister further reinforced this initiative with the proposal to create a secure digital repository that would keep track and record all of the key policy measures pursued by the bloc.

The direct quote from the official website of India’s Prime Minister on his Opening Remarks during the 18th BRICS Summit Session “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening”: “It is now time for us to translate our unity and consensus within BRICS into concrete outcomes on the global stage. For the next twenty years, we must work on a new and ambitious agenda. We must begin by strengthening our own working systems. The BRICS Chairship changes every year, but this should not interrupt our institutional momentum. I propose the establishment of a BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism. Through the Troika, this mechanism will ensure systematic follow-up on all initiatives and outcomes. We can create a secure digital repository in which, for every decision, the nodal point, timeline, and implementation status can be recorded”[1].

This proposal to create the BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism is perhaps one of the most significant for BRICS operational development in the past several years, with the expansion in membership in 2023-2025 as well as the absence of a BRICS institutional framework (Secretariat, headquarters) all pointing to the need for a policy continuity arrangement in the form of a Troika. This is the approach that has been actively pursued in recent years by a rising number of international platforms, organizations and regional blocs – from ASEAN to the G20 and the African Union[2]. If this proposal is adopted, it will contribute significantly to greater continuity in the succession of BRICS presidencies and will expand the scope for BRICS to forge greater intra-bloc cohesion and build new alliances across the global economy.

The text of Prime Minister Modi’s Opening Remarks during the 18th BRICS Summit Session can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-opening-remarks-during-the-18th-brics-summit-session-inclusive-global-governance-and-strengthening/?comment=disable
[1] https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-opening-remarks-during-the-18th-brics-summit-session-inclusive-global-governance-and-strengthening/?comment=disable
[2] https://brics-plus-analytics.org/the-brics-troika-proposal-revisited/; https://brics-plus-analytics.org/a-brics-troika-format-for-chairmanship-transition/

Yaroslav Lissovolik, Founder, BRICS+ Analytics