BRICS Summit 2026: Who is attending, why does it matter and what is India’s role? | Explained | Today’s news
India is all set to host the 18th BRICS summit in the national capital this weekend.
At the important summit, which is scheduled for 12-13 September 2026 at the Bharat Mandapam, the leaders of BRICS member and partner countries as well as invitees will gather.
India is the BRICS Chairman for the year 2026. The BRICS Presidency is guided by the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Collaboration and Sustainability”.
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At the two-day summit, leaders will also exchange views on strengthening internalBRICS cooperation on common priorities and sharing views on global and regional issues of common importance.
350 meetings and high-level meetings have already been held in over 25 cities across India to further strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership under the Indian presidency this year. The final meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS countries will be held in Mumbai on September 9-10.
The meeting in Mumbai will bring together the finance ministers and central bank governors of the BRICS member countries and comes just days before the BRICS leaders’ summit.
What is BRICS?
BRICS was established in 2006 as an informal group and its first formal summit was held on 16 June 2009.
BRICS brings together eleven major emerging markets and developing countries around the world: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and United Arab Emirates. It serves as a useful platform for consultation and cooperation on current issues of global and regional importance.
India is a founding member of BRICS and previously held the chairmanship three times: in 2012, 2016 and 2021. India assumed its fourth BRICS chairmanship on 1 January 2026. 2026 is also a significant milestone as BRICS will complete twenty years since its inception.
Overview BRICS published central bank of brazil reports an expanded grouping to approximately 49% of the world’s population, 39% of global GDP, and 23% of international trade.
Why do BRICS matter?
BRICS is not a formal organization but a loose bloc of non-Western economies that coordinate economic and diplomatic efforts around a common goal, according to the independent think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
The BRICS countries are trying to build an alternative to what they see as the dominant Western view multilateral groupings, such as the World Bank, the Group of Seven (G7) and the UN Security Council, CFR says.
The formal expansion of BRICS took effect on 1 January 2024, welcoming Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as new member states.
The expansion in 2024 came with a number of geopolitical implications representing increasing economic and demographic growth: the eleven BRICS countries now account for more than a quarter of the global economy and almost half of the world’s population, according to the CFR.
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“The group is poised to influence the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the shape of the global economic system, competition between China and the West, and clean energy transition efforts,” writes Zongyuan Zoe Liu, CFR expert and Maurice R Greenberg Senior Fellow for China Studies.
But growing membership also brings new challenges, including growing opposition from Western countries and divisions within the bloc. Experts say how BRICS members deal with these tensions will determine whether the group can become a more unified voice on the global stage.
Why is BRICS important for India?
From a largely economic grouping of emerging economies, BRICS has evolved over the years into something much larger: a platform through which countries Global South seek greater influence on the global economic and political order.
As for India, BRICS brings it to the same table as China and Russia, while also connecting it with major economies and energy producers in the developing world. The bloc provides an important platform for INDIA to position itself as a voice for developing and emerging economies, a major central foreign policy objective.
The expansion in 2024 came with a number of geopolitical implications representing increasing economic and demographic growth: the eleven BRICS countries now account for more than a quarter of the global economy and almost half of the world’s population, according to the CFR. (CFR)
The grouping has consistently pushed for reforms to institutions such as the United Nations International Monetary Fundand the World Bank, arguing that their governance structures do not adequately reflect the economic weight of emerging economies, which India also supports.
BRICS allows India to engage China and Russia without abandoning its partnerships with the US, Europe, Japan, Australia and other countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s likely attendance at the BRICS summit in India in September 2026 is particularly significant as it could provide another high-level channel to manage the complex India-China relationship.
Indian Equalization Act
During India’s BRICS chairmanship in 2026, Delhi has pushed for greater and more balanced trade among members, stronger trade in services, resilient global value chains and easier access to finance for small businesses.
It would be a challenge for India to strike a balance as the enlarged BRICS country includes both Iran and the UAE, which have conflicting interests in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. At the same time. New Delhi also has important strategic and economic ties with Washington and the Gulf countries.
This makes India’s BRICS chairmanship even more important.
At the recent BRICS Trade Ministers meeting in Jaipur, members endorsed policies to strengthen MSMEs’ access to global markets and narrow the trade-finance gap. India also pushed for more resilient and diversified global value chains at the Jaipur meeting.
This is important as India’s economic interests are increasingly tied to markets outside traditional markets western economies.
And the stakes are not just diplomatic. The US-Iran war has affected energy security, shipping and global oil markets Strait of Hormuz becomes a major vulnerability. Reuters reported on August 31 that analysts expected oil prices to remain above $80 a barrel in 2026 due to continued supply disruptions related to the US-Iran conflict.
This is particularly significant for India as West Asia is central to its energy security, trade and diaspora interests. Any prolonged disruption in the region could increase India’s import bill, put pressure on inflation and complicate economic growth.
US-Iran War
Analysts say the US-Iran war has revealed a central rift within the BRICS. While the grouping seeks to challenge a A global order controlled by the Westits members have different interests when a real geopolitical crisis breaks out.
It is an opportunity for India to show whether its much-discussed strategic autonomy can translate into leadership, analysts believe. According to them, it is also a diplomatic challenge.
Iran sought to use BRICS to rally opposition to US military action and urged India as chair to help build a common stance.
On August 31 Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since the outbreak of the US-Iran war, which has engulfed the Middle East and beyond, following US and Israeli attacks on Tehran earlier this year.
Pezeshkian urged Modi use India’s extensive contacts with various parties to help them move away from the path of war and bloodshed and back to the path of dialogue and agreement.
New Delhi, India – September 6, 2026: NDMC workers carry out preparations and beautification work near the Bharat Mandapam ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi, India on Sunday, September 6, 2026. (Photo: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times)(Hindustan Times)
“We believe that the solution to the problems we face lies in dialogue and cooperation, and that all available capacities must be mobilized to prevent the spread of insecurity and conflict,” he said, according to an Iranian reading.
Who is attending the BRICS Summit?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend, although China has not formally confirmed his attendance.
If Xi visits, it would be his first trip to India since the 2019 Mamallapuram informal summit with Modi. A side Modi-Xi bilateral meeting is widely expected.
The Chinese leader’s delegation could number around 400 officials, according to some media reports, roughly double the 2019 contingent. There has been intense diplomacy between China and India, the latest being the 25th round of special representative talks held in Beijing on August 28 between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the summit. It would be his second visit to India in less than a year, after the annual bilateral summit in Delhi in December 2025. Modi renewed the invitation for Putin in person when the two leaders met at the SCO summit in Bishkek on 31 August.
Who else is participating?
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
– Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
-Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto
-Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian
-Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
-Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
– Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,
– Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
-Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres is likely to attend, although a formal announcement is pending.
What PM Modi said at the last BRICS summit
The 17th BRICS Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 6-7 July 2025 under the presidency of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
At the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for urgent reforms global “governmental institutions”, emphasizing the need to give developing countries a stronger voice in international decision-making.
We believe that the solution to the problems we face lies in dialogue and cooperation…
The 2025 BRICS Declaration also emphasized a more representative and inclusive international order and reform of the multilateral system.
