{"id":84800,"date":"2026-09-14T18:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T12:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=84800"},"modified":"2026-09-14T18:25:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T12:55:52","slug":"18th-brics-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-09-2026\/18th-brics-summit","title":{"rendered":"18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi Declaration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/International Relations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/27-04-2026\/india-brics-presidency-priorities\"><strong>18th BRICS Summit<\/strong><\/a>, hosted by India in New Delhi recently, adopted the <strong>New Delhi Declaration<\/strong>, reaffirming reformed multilateralism amid wars, protectionism and unilateral actions by major powers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Highlights of New Delhi Declaration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reformed Multilateralism:<\/strong> Members reiterated support for a more democratic, representative, accountable and effective international order, with the <strong>UN at its centre<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UNSC Reforms:<\/strong> BRICS backed comprehensive <strong>UN Security Council (UNSC)<\/strong> reform and greater representation of developing countries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>China and Russia<\/strong>, as permanent members, reiterated support for the aspirations of <strong>Brazil and India<\/strong> for a greater role, including in the UNSC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Global South:<\/strong> The grouping reaffirmed its role as a voice for <strong>Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs)<\/strong> and Least Developed Countries, particularly from Africa, Asia and Latin America.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade &amp; Finance:<\/strong> It opposed unilateral tariffs, non-tariff barriers and coercive sanctions, while <strong>supporting WTO reform<\/strong>, restoration of its two-tier dispute-settlement mechanism and greater EMDC representation in the <strong>IMF and World Bank<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intra-BRICS Trade:<\/strong> Members supported deeper economic cooperation, resilient supply chains and practical solutions for <strong>cross-border payments and trade settlements in local currencies<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conflicts:<\/strong> The Declaration condemned unilateral wars and stressed dialogue, preventive diplomacy and peaceful dispute settlement.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It took a particularly strong position on <strong>Palestine and Lebanon<\/strong>, including humanitarian access, Palestinian self-determination and the two-state solution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>West Asia Compromise:<\/strong> References to the <strong>U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran, assassination of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran\u2019s retaliatory attacks, including on the UAE<\/strong>, were omitted reportedly as a last-minute compromise between Iran and the UAE.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Terrorism:<\/strong> BRICS strongly condemned the <strong>22 April 2025 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir<\/strong>, in which <strong>26 people were killed<\/strong>, and called for zero tolerance towards terrorism and its financing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of the Declaration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Summit demonstrated that BRICS can forge consensus despite sharp geopolitical differences.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Its success rested on <strong>high-level participation, emphasis on intra-BRICS trade mechanisms and consensus-building during wartime<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s <strong>fourth BRICS chairship<\/strong> strengthened its image as a <strong>Global South balancer<\/strong> with access to competing geopolitical camps.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It facilitated the highest-level <strong>Iran-UAE bilateral meeting since the war began<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s engagement with <strong>Iran<\/strong> helped address concerns over its perceived tilt towards the US and Israel, and its meeting with <strong>China <\/strong>provided space to reaffirm political will to normalise ties, while outreach to <strong>ASEAN and African leaders<\/strong> reinforced India\u2019s wider partnerships.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India hosted <strong>over 400 BRICS meetings and engagements across 30 Indian cities<\/strong>, broadening institutional and people-to-people cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns &amp; Issues Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Internal Divergences:<\/strong> India-China tensions, Iran-UAE differences and differing approaches to global conflicts can constrain consensus.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ambiguity:<\/strong> Saudi Arabia has not formally joined BRICS; Foreign Minister <strong>Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud arrived after the main session<\/strong> that adopted the joint statement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implementation Deficit:<\/strong> Declarations on UNSC, IMF, WTO reform and local-currency trade require concrete institutional outcomes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geopolitical Polarisation:<\/strong> BRICS needs to avoid becoming merely an anti-Western bloc while retaining strategic autonomy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward: Strengthening Measures<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Convert declarations into <strong>time-bound implementation roadmaps<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Deepen <strong>local-currency settlements, interoperable payment systems and intra-BRICS trade<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build consensus through <strong>issue-based coalitions<\/strong>, rather than forcing uniform positions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthen BRICS\u2019 role in <strong>UN, IMF, World Bank and WTO reforms<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expand cooperation in health, technology, climate resilience, food security and counter-terrorism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>BRICS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Originally <strong>BRIC<\/strong> (2001, coined by Jim O\u2019Neill), and became <strong>BRICS in 2010<\/strong> with the inclusion of South Africa.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Members<\/strong>: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and membership was expanded to include<strong> <\/strong>Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Objectives:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promote <strong>multipolar world order;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reform <strong>global financial institutions like IMF, World Bank, UNSC;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhance <strong>South-South cooperation;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support <strong>sustainable development and inclusive growth<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The total GDP of the BRICS nations in nominal dollar terms as of 2026 is over US$ 32 trillion, accounting for 28\u201330% of global GDP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms, the BRICS is US$ 78 trillion, representing more than 40% of global GDP, <strong>surpassing the G7\u2019s 27.8% share<\/strong> in PPP terms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Institutional Mechanisms<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>New Development Bank (NDB), 2014:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Headquarter:<\/strong> Shanghai<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Purpose:<\/strong> Finance infrastructure &amp; sustainable development projects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seen as an alternative to World Bank\/IMF dominance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA):<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Provides liquidity support during financial crises<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helps reduce dependence on Western-led financial systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>BRICS Presidency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>BRICS Presidency refers to the <strong>annual rotating chairmanship<\/strong>, where one member country leads the forum for a year.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Each country acts as <strong>chair (host) for one year<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It rotates among members in <strong>alphabetical order.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mea.gov.in\/bilateral-documents?dtl\/41776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: MEA<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The 18th BRICS Summit, hosted by India in New Delhi recently, adopted the New Delhi Declaration, reaffirming reformed multilateralism amid wars, protectionism and unilateral actions by major powers. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Key Highlights of New Delhi Declaration <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Reformed Multilateralism: Members reiterated support for a more democratic, representative, accountable and effective international order, with the UN at its centre. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> UNSC Reforms: BRICS backed comprehensive UN Security Council (UNSC) reform and greater representation of developing countries. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-09-2026\/18th-brics-summit\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84800"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84803,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84800\/revisions\/84803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}