New Delhi, September 11: New Delhi is preparing to host the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12–13, bringing together leaders of the expanded grouping at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, wars and uncertainty over the global economic order.
The summit, hosted by India under its 2026 BRICS chairmanship, is expected to focus on strengthening multilateralism, reforming global governance, trade and investment, technological cooperation, food and energy security, healthcare and the resilience of global supply chains.
The meeting assumes particular significance because BRICS has changed considerably since it was originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China. With the expansion to 11 members, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the grouping now represents nearly half of the world’s population and a substantial share of the global economy.
Wars and geopolitical tensions dominate backdrop
The summit comes against the backdrop of the continuing conflict involving Iran and the wider instability in West Asia, as well as the war in Ukraine and growing rivalry between the United States and China.
For BRICS, the challenge is to find common ground among countries whose strategic interests do not always coincide. The conflict involving Iran has added another layer of complexity, particularly because both Iran and the UAE are members of the expanded grouping.
India is seeking to use its position as chair to maintain BRICS as a platform for cooperation among emerging economies rather than allowing it to become an explicitly anti-Western bloc.
Modi-Xi-Putin meetings in focus
Among the most closely watched engagements will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The presence of the Chinese and Russian leaders gives India an opportunity to discuss not only BRICS issues but also bilateral and regional questions. India’s approach is likely to remain focused on strategic autonomy—maintaining its partnerships with Russia and other BRICS members while continuing extensive economic and strategic engagement with Western countries.
Digital payments and de-dollarisation
Economic cooperation is another major focus of India’s BRICS presidency.
India is pushing for greater interoperability between digital payment systems and has proposed exploring links between the central bank digital currencies of BRICS countries. The objective is to make cross-border transactions faster and more efficient.
The proposal is significant because several BRICS members have been looking for ways to reduce their dependence on Western-dominated financial infrastructure. However, India has made clear that its approach is focused on facilitating trade and payments rather than creating a common BRICS currency to replace the US dollar.
The idea faces substantial technical and geopolitical challenges, including differences between national financial systems, currency arrangements and the strained relations among some member states.
From political grouping to economic platform
India is also seeking to give the expanded BRICS a more practical economic agenda.
Proposals under discussion include a BRICS startup innovation fund, an incubator network connecting entrepreneurs and innovation agencies, and cooperation on logistics and global supply chains.
For India, this could be an important way of shifting the BRICS conversation from broad declarations on the international order towards projects that can directly benefit businesses, entrepreneurs and developing economies.
A test for India’s diplomacy
The New Delhi summit will ultimately be a test of India’s ability to bridge differences between countries with very different political systems and foreign-policy priorities.
BRICS has grown into a much more influential grouping, but its expansion has also made consensus harder. China and India have unresolved strategic differences, Iran and the UAE have sharply divergent interests over regional security, while members also have different positions on the wars in Ukraine and West Asia.
The success of the summit may therefore depend less on ambitious political rhetoric and more on whether the leaders can agree on practical areas of cooperation.
For India, the summit also offers an opportunity to project New Delhi as a bridge between the developing world and the established global powers—and to demonstrate that a more multipolar international system can produce concrete economic and diplomatic results.
