India is preparing to conclude its 2026 chairship of the expanded BRICS grouping with the 18th Leaders’ Summit scheduled in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.

The presidency, which commenced on January 1, 2026, has been guided by the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, emphasising a human-centric approach across its four pillars to reinforce institutional strength and support sustainable growth.

Under the resilience pillar, India has sought to strengthen economic, social, and institutional frameworks to ensure member states are better equipped to handle global uncertainties.

This includes supply-chain interruptions, health crises, and climate hazards, with systems designed to be robust, adaptable, and inclusive in fostering progress.

The innovation pillar has focused on harnessing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, and fintech.

These tools are being deployed to refine service delivery, encourage future-ready economic expansion, and promote joint technological cooperation and knowledge-sharing across the bloc.

Through the cooperation pillar, India has aimed to deepen ties among members by enhancing policy alignment, development finance, trade facilitation, and collective engagement on multilateral governance reforms. Practical collaboration and people-focused partnerships have been placed at the centre of the group’s widening scope.

The sustainability pillar has driven collective action on climate mitigation, green finance, energy transition, and sustainable development. Respecting national developmental priorities, these issues have been placed at the core of dialogues across ministerial and working-level forums throughout the presidency year.

The grouping has evolved into a vital platform for diplomatic and political alignment among major emerging markets and developing countries. It now comprises 11 full members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Alongside these, a partner-country framework has been introduced, including Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Collectively, this expanded alliance represents approximately 49.5 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of world GDP, and 26 per cent of international trade.

The bloc began as BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, formalised during the inaugural BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2006.

The first BRIC Leaders’ Summit was hosted in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa joined in 2011, transforming BRIC into BRICS. The group later expanded further, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE joining in January 2024, followed by Indonesia in January 2025.

The partner-country category was established at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan in 2024, with nine nations joining in 2025 before Vietnam became the tenth partner nation.

Despite its expanding agenda, institutional collaboration remains structured around three foundational pillars: Political and Security; Economy and Finance; and Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges.

The Political and Security pillar addresses international peace, counter-terrorism, global governance, and reform of the multilateral system. The Economy and Finance pillar covers trade, investment, financial cooperation, development finance, and global economic architecture.

The Cultural and People-to-People dimension builds societal ties through educational, youth, sports, cultural, and tourism initiatives. Over time, this mechanism has widened to include climate policy, food and energy security, agricultural cooperation, telecommunications, employment, trade, World Trade Organization engagement, and joint security responses.

The upcoming New Delhi summit follows the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6 and 7, 2025, under Brazil’s chairship. That summit focused on Global South cooperation, inclusive governance, global health, climate action, artificial intelligence governance, trade, and financial mechanism efficiency during the first high-level assembly of the broadened grouping.

For India, the 2026 chairship marks its fourth tenure heading BRICS, following previous terms in 2012, 2016, and 2021. India last held the chair in 2021, hosting the 13th BRICS Summit virtually on September 9 under the theme “BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus.”

During that chairship, New Delhi organised over 150 ministerial and sector-specific events focused on reforming the multilateral system, strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation, deploying digital tools for the Sustainable Development Goals, and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. These priorities were enshrined in the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 13th summit.

Carrying forward this legacy, India’s 2026 presidency bridges established reform goals with expanded priorities, placing resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability at the heart of the bloc’s collective agenda. Leaders will convene in New Delhi to assess the group’s evolving global role and chart the path forward.

ANI