What are the key issues of the BRICS Summit to be held in New Delhi in September? | Explained
India is set to host the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September 2026, under its current chairship of the grouping.
The summit's theme has been announced as "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
Preparatory ministerial meetings through the year have shaped an agenda spanning trade, technology, climate finance, and reform of global institutions.
Key discussion points reported ahead of the summit include a proposed BRICS Pay mechanism (positioned as an alternative cross-border payment channel), possible linkages between members' central bank digital currencies, and continued discussion on further expansion of the bloc's membership.
The gathering brings together an enlarged BRICS grouping following its 2024 expansion, making the New Delhi summit one of the first hosted by India since new members joined.
BRICS — Origin, Expansion and Structure
BRICS began as an informal grouping named "BRIC" following the first summit held in 2009 (Yekaterinburg, Russia), bringing together Brazil, Russia, India and China as large, fast-growing emerging economies seeking greater voice in global institutions historically dominated by Western powers. South Africa joined in 2010–11, forming the five-member "BRICS." The bloc has no permanent secretariat or headquarters; it operates through an annual rotating chairship, with the chair country hosting ministerial meetings and the leaders' summit for that year.
Key Details
- Founding summit: 2009 (as BRIC); South Africa added in 2010/2011, forming BRICS.
- 2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates formally joined as full members from January 2024; Indonesia joined as a full member from January 2025, taking full membership beyond the original five.
- Saudi Arabia was invited in 2023 but its formal accession has remained a subject of continuing deliberation.
- Governance: no standing secretariat — the presidency (chairship) rotates annually among member states, with the chair setting that year's theme and agenda.
- India previously hosted the BRICS Summit in 2021 and again in 2016.
As the current chair, India is hosting the September 2026 New Delhi summit — the leaders' meeting that caps a year of India-led ministerial and working-group meetings, and one of the first full summits since the 2024–25 membership expansion broadened the grouping beyond its original five members.
New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)
The NDB and the CRA are BRICS's two flagship financial mechanisms, both established through agreements signed at the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil (2014), and intended as alternatives/supplements to Bretton Woods institutions like the World Bank and IMF for development finance and balance-of-payments support respectively.
Key Details
- NDB: headquartered in Shanghai, China; agreement signed 2014, became operational in 2015; lends for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies; each founding member holds equal shareholding and voting power.
- CRA: a pooled reserve arrangement of up to USD 100 billion for members facing balance-of-payments pressures, with committed contributions of USD 41 billion (China), USD 18 billion each (Brazil, India, Russia) and USD 5 billion (South Africa).
- Both mechanisms reflect BRICS's stated goal of giving emerging economies financial buffers and development-finance options outside institutions where voting power is weighted toward advanced economies.
Discussions reported ahead of the New Delhi summit around a BRICS Pay mechanism and central bank digital currency linkages build on this same institutional logic pioneered by the NDB and CRA — reducing dependence on Western-dominated financial infrastructure for trade and reserve management among member states.
Summit Agenda and India's Priorities as Chair
As chair, India has used 2026 ministerial meetings to steer the agenda toward trade facilitation, technology and digital public infrastructure cooperation, climate finance, and reform of multilateral institutions such as the UN Security Council and international financial institutions — themes consistent with India's long-standing "reformed multilateralism" position at BRICS and other forums.
Key Details
- Announced summit theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
- Reported agenda items include a BRICS Pay cross-border payment initiative and discussion of linking members' central bank digital currencies, alongside continuing talks on further bloc expansion.
- More than a dozen additional countries have expressed formal or informal interest in BRICS membership or partner-country status, keeping expansion on the agenda for the New Delhi summit.
The summit's theme and agenda reflect India's attempt to position BRICS as a platform for practical economic cooperation (payments, development finance, technology) even as debates over further expansion and institutional reform continue among existing members.
- BRICS founding summit: 2009 (Brazil, Russia, India, China); South Africa joined 2010/2011.
- 2024–25 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE (from January 2024) and Indonesia (from January 2025) joined as full members.
- New Development Bank: established 2014, operational 2015, headquartered in Shanghai.
- Contingent Reserve Arrangement: pooled reserve fund of up to USD 100 billion, established 2014.
- BRICS has no permanent secretariat; chairship rotates annually — India holds the chair in 2026 and is hosting the leaders' summit in New Delhi in September 2026.