Leaders from the expanded BRICS grouping are gathering at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September for the 18th BRICS Summit, with India holding the chair for the fourth time in the history.
The two-day meeting brings together heads of state and government from BRICS member nations, partner countries and outreach invitees. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the confirmed attendees, along with leaders from Ethiopia, the UAE, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Thailand.
India's chairship is guided by the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", with an emphasis on what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as a people-centric, humanity-first approach. The first day will focus on closed-door discussions among the 11 BRICS member nations, while the second will open to partner countries and outreach invitees.
The summit agenda spans trade and investment, financial cooperation, technology, food and energy security, health, climate change and reform of global institutions including the United Nations. India has pushed during its chairship for greater intra-BRICS trade in goods and services, resilient global value chains and improved financing access for small businesses. Cross-border digital payments, including UPI-based mechanisms and greater use of national currencies in bilateral trade, are also on the table.
The meeting is expected to conclude with a New Delhi Declaration setting out agreed positions and commitments. More than 350 meetings and high-level engagements were held across 25 Indian cities during India's chairship ahead of the leaders' summit. BRICS now represents 11 full members and 10 partner countries, covering around 49 percent of the world's population and 40 per ent of global GDP.
The summit also marks the 20th anniversary of BRICS' founding.
