NEW DELHI - New Delhi is preparing to take centre stage as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosts world leaders at the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam, this weekend.
Driving through the leafy green city of New Delhi, the upcoming summit is impossible to miss, with promotional billboards lining the streets and the capital operating under a strict, heightened security protocol.
For the expanded BRICS family, the two-day gathering (12 to 13 September 2026) is one of the most closely watched events on the diplomatic calendar.
The summit is taking place under the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” reflecting a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of “Humanity First”.
On the eve of the leaders' summit, the BRICS Business Forum will take place on Friday, with business leaders, Ministers and Heads of state under one roof to discuss trade, investment, finance, technology and development challenges that shape the BRICS economic agenda.
The Forum serves as a platform where key ideas and suggestions from the Council are presented and discussed, and plays a strong agenda-setting role.
Its conclusions and the Business Council's recommendations are regularly reflected in BRICS Summit declarations and in follow-up work plans, particularly on intra-BRICS trade, investment, digital economy, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), standards cooperation and value chain integration.
BRICS now brings together 11 major emerging markets and developing countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, BRICS has ten Partner Countries, further expanding the platform’s reach across economies and regions
The grouping provides a platform for consultation and cooperation on contemporary issues of global and regional significance, including questions of political and economic governance.
The Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India said leaders will exchange views on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities, while also sharing perspectives on global and regional matters of mutual importance.
India assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on 1 January 2026, having previously chaired the grouping in 2012, 2016 and 2021.
“Under India’s chairship this year, more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held in over 25 cities across India to further strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership across three fundamental pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
“Through these engagements, as well as business-to-business and people-to-people initiatives, India’s BRICS chairship has contributed to advancing cooperation through practical and development-oriented outcomes,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The year 2026 also marks a significant milestone for BRICS, which completes 20 years since its establishment.
Over the past two decades, the BRICS agenda has expanded considerably from its initial focus on economic issues of mutual concern and is now structured around three core pillars.
Cooperation now spans a wide range of global priorities, including the fight against terrorism, climate change, food and energy security, the international economic and financial situation, telecommunications, agriculture, labour and employment, reform of the international financial architecture, trade and the World Trade Organisation. -SAnews.gov.za
