UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to participate in BRICS Summit in India
UN Secretary-General António Guterres will participate in the 18th BRICS Summit, to be held on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
India holds the BRICS Chairship for 2026 — its fourth chairship after 2012, 2016 and 2021 — and is hosting the summit under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"
The summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees
2026 marks 20 years since the BRICS grouping's original conception, adding institutional significance to India's chairship
BRICS — Origin, Expansion and Institutional Structure
BRICS began as an informal grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China (the "BRIC" acronym coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001); South Africa joined in 2010, making it "BRICS." It functions as a non-treaty-based grouping without a permanent secretariat, coordinating positions through annual summits, ministerial meetings and working groups rather than through binding institutional structures like the UN or WTO.
Key Details
- Original grouping: Brazil, Russia, India, China (2006 informally, first summit 2009); South Africa added 2010
- 2024 expansion (Kazan Summit) admitted Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE as full members effective January 1, 2024
- Indonesia became the first Southeast Asian full member in January 2025, taking full membership to 10 countries
- A wider tier of "partner countries" (including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Uganda, Bolivia) was created in 2024-25, short of full membership
- BRICS now accounts for roughly half of world population and over 41% of global GDP (PPP)
The New Delhi summit is the first BRICS summit hosted by India since the 2024-25 expansion round, making it a test of coordination among an enlarged and more diverse membership.
New Development Bank (NDB) — BRICS' Financial Institution
The NDB is BRICS' multilateral development bank, created as an alternative funding channel for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging economies, distinct from the Bretton Woods institutions (IMF/World Bank) where voting power is weighted by capital contribution.
Key Details
- Established 2014 at the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil; began operations in 2016
- Headquartered in Shanghai, China
- Each of the five founding members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) holds equal shareholding and voting power, unlike the IMF/World Bank
- Lends in local currencies as well as US dollars, reducing recipient countries' exchange-rate risk
NDB financing and lending-currency expansion are recurring items on the BRICS summit agenda and are relevant to India's "de-dollarisation"-adjacent discussions within the bloc, even though BRICS has not adopted a common currency.
UN Security Council Reform and India's Candidature
The UN Secretary-General's attendance at a BRICS summit is significant because BRICS has repeatedly used its joint declarations to press for reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC), including expansion of permanent membership to include developing-country representation from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Key Details
- The UNSC currently has 5 permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China) with veto power and 10 non-permanent elected members (2-year terms, not eligible for immediate re-election)
- BRICS declarations (since the 2023 Johannesburg Summit) have backed the aspirations of Brazil, India and South Africa for a greater role in international affairs, including in the UNSC
- India has been a non-permanent UNSC member 8 times, most recently 2021-22
- The "G4" (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan) is a separate grouping outside BRICS that specifically campaigns for permanent UNSC seats for its members
The Secretary-General's presence at the summit gives BRICS members, including India, a direct platform to reiterate UNSC reform demands to the UN's chief administrative officer, though actual reform requires a UN Charter amendment under Article 108 (two-thirds of UN General Assembly plus all five permanent members' ratification).
- 18th BRICS Summit: September 12-13, 2026, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
- India's BRICS chairships: 2012, 2016, 2021, 2026 (fourth)
- BRICS full membership (2026): 10 countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Indonesia
- NDB founded 2014 (Fortaleza Summit), operational since 2016, headquartered in Shanghai
- BRICS share of world GDP (PPP): over 41%; share of world population: roughly half
- UNSC amendment procedure: Article 108, Constitution of India-equivalent — two-thirds UNGA majority plus ratification by all five permanent members