India-led BRICS focusing on ‘candid conversations’ to find consensus for joint statement
The BRICS leaders' summit is scheduled for September 12-13, 2026, in New Delhi, under India's chairmanship
Negotiators are working through "candid conversations" at the Sherpa level to find common ground for a joint leaders' statement, with the West Asia conflict identified as the primary point of difference among member states
Iran and the United Arab Emirates — both BRICS members but on opposing sides of the West Asia conflict — have created friction in earlier ministerial-level discussions; language on the Palestinian-Israeli issue reportedly saw more agreement than language on the broader regional conflict
Officials clarified that the summit agenda does not include any de-dollarization proposal or further membership expansion, with the focus instead on integrating recently admitted members
Expected attendees include leaders from China, Russia, and Iran, among others
BRICS — Origins, Institutional Form, and 2024-25 Expansion
BRICS began as "BRIC" with the first leaders' summit held on June 16, 2009 (Brazil, Russia, India, China); South Africa joined in 2010-11, making it "BRICS." Unlike organisations such as the UN or WTO, BRICS has no founding treaty, permanent secretariat, or headquarters — it functions through annually rotating chairmanship and consensus-based joint declarations rather than binding institutional decisions.
Key Details
- 2024 expansion added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE as full members; Indonesia formally joined as the 10th member in January 2025
- Saudi Arabia was invited at the 2023 Johannesburg summit but, per multiple 2025-26 reports, has not formally confirmed full membership despite appearing on official BRICS member lists — reflecting its balancing act between BRICS and Western partners [Unverified — Saudi Arabia's precise membership status is contested/ambiguous in current reporting]
- The bloc's own investment arm, the New Development Bank (NDB), was established in 2014 and is headquartered in Shanghai, distinct from BRICS itself which has no headquarters
The absence of a binding charter is precisely why "consensus" is the operative word in this news — a joint statement requires every member (including newly inducted, geopolitically opposed members like Iran and the UAE) to agree on language, unlike a treaty-based body where majority or weighted voting could resolve disputes.
India's BRICS Chairmanship — Pattern and Precedent
India has chaired BRICS four times: 2012, 2016, 2021, and now 2026 (effective from January 1, 2026). Each chairmanship year culminates in a leaders' summit and a set of ministerial-level meetings (foreign affairs, finance, trade) that feed into the final joint declaration.
Key Details
- Previous Indian-chaired summits: 2012 (New Delhi, 4th BRICS Summit), 2016 (Goa, 8th Summit — produced the Goa Declaration), 2021 (virtual, due to COVID-19)
- The 2026 New Delhi summit is being held for the first time with the fully expanded 11-member (or 10-member, pending Saudi Arabia's formal status) grouping in attendance
- The "Sherpa" system — senior officials representing each leader — conducts the substantive pre-summit negotiation on joint statement language, a practice shared with the G20 and G7
As chair, India carries the diplomatic responsibility of engineering consensus among an enlarged and more geopolitically diverse membership than in any of its three previous chairmanships — a structurally harder task given the West Asia fault line.
Consensus-Based Multilateralism and the West Asia Fault Line
Multilateral groupings without binding voting mechanisms (BRICS, SCO, NAM) rely on consensus, meaning any one member can effectively block or dilute joint language. The West Asia conflict — pitting states aligned differently on the Israel-Iran/Gaza dynamic — is a live example of how expansion can strain a consensus-based bloc's ability to issue unified statements, a dynamic UPSC frequently tests via comparison with other consensus bodies (WTO's single-undertaking principle, ASEAN's non-interference norm).
Key Details
- Iran and the UAE, both BRICS members since 2024, hold divergent positions on West Asia security issues, illustrated by only partial agreement (on Palestinian-Israeli language) at prior ministerial meetings
- India has publicly framed its approach as favouring "dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation" rather than taking sides
- The search for "landing zones" — diplomatic shorthand for language acceptable to all parties — is standard Sherpa-track terminology in summit diplomacy
This bridge explains the structural reason a "joint statement" is difficult to finalize: BRICS's consensus model means the presence of geopolitically opposed members (a direct consequence of 2024-25 expansion) raises the bar for what language every member will sign onto.
- BRICS summit dates: September 12-13, 2026, New Delhi
- BRICS founded: June 16, 2009 (as BRIC); South Africa added 2010-11
- 2024-25 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE (2024); Indonesia (January 2025); Saudi Arabia's status contested/unconfirmed
- Total membership commonly cited: 11 (including Saudi Arabia) or 10 (excluding it, pending formal confirmation)
- India's BRICS chairmanships: 2012, 2016, 2021, 2026
- New Development Bank: established 2014, headquartered in Shanghai
- Summit agenda excludes: de-dollarization proposals, further membership expansion (per official clarification)