India hosts BRICS | What’s on the agenda?
India is hosting the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, over two days, September 12-13, 2026, under India's current BRICS chairmanship.
The summit's theme is "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
The agenda includes closed-door sessions on inclusive global governance and multilateralism, an open session on resilience and inclusive global growth, discussions on supply chains, cross-border payments, technology and artificial intelligence, energy, and reform of global governance institutions.
Leaders of member states, including Russia and China, are attending alongside sideline bilateral engagements with the host country.
Side events include an innovation exhibition, a joint tree-planting exercise, and other customary summit engagements.
BRICS — Origin, Membership and Expansion
BRICS began as an informal grouping (BRIC) after the first leaders' summit in 2009, joined by South Africa in 2010 to become BRICS. It was conceived as a platform for large emerging economies to seek greater voice in global economic governance historically dominated by Western-led institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.
India's hosting of the 18th summit as chair reflects its position within an expanded BRICS bloc that now spans multiple continents, giving New Delhi a platform to push agenda items (digital public infrastructure, cross-border payments, global governance reform) important to its own foreign policy priorities.
Global Governance Reform and Multilateralism
"Reform of multilateralism" in the BRICS context refers to demands for restructuring institutions like the UN Security Council, IMF, and World Bank to better reflect the economic weight of emerging economies, alongside expanding the use of local currencies in trade to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
Key Details
- India has consistently sought UNSC permanent membership and has used BRICS/G20 platforms to advocate for Global South representation.
- BRICS summits typically issue a joint declaration; substantive outcomes are consensus-driven given the bloc's diverse membership (including states with competing interests, e.g., India-China).
- Cross-border payment systems and local-currency trade settlement have been recurring BRICS agenda items, distinct from any single "BRICS currency" proposal.
The listed 2026 agenda items (cross-border payments, technology/AI, global governance reform) are a continuation of this institutional push, positioned as India's contribution as chair.
- Summit dates: September 12-13, 2026; venue: Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
- Theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
- BRICS founded 2009 (first summit); South Africa joined 2010.
- 2024 expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE (full members from January 2024).
- Indonesia: full member from January 2025.
- New Development Bank: operational since July 2014, HQ Shanghai, $100 billion authorised capital.