India set to host expanded BRICS summit as global trade, finance and governance take centre stage

India is set to host the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in the national capital on September 12 and 13, bringing together leaders of the expanded grouping for a two-day meeting focused on trade, finance, technology, energy security and reforms to global governance.

The summit, to be held at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, comes as BRICS marks 20 years since its foundation and follows the bloc’s historic expansion, giving India’s 2026 chairship added diplomatic weight.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the summit, with Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed to attend and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to participate.

A visit by Xi would be his first to India since his 2019 informal meeting with Modi in Mamallapuram, making potential bilateral discussions between the two leaders one of the closely watched aspects of the summit.

India’s chairship is centred on the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, under the broader vision of “Humanity First.”

The agenda seeks to deepen cooperation among member countries while pursuing practical outcomes in economic growth, technological integration, sustainable development and institutional reform.

Among the key issues expected to feature in discussions are resilient global supply chains, cross-border payments, greater use of national currencies, digital trade, artificial intelligence and the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Leaders are also expected to discuss energy security, climate resilience, development finance and the expansion of the New Development Bank, along with reforms of multilateral financial and political institutions.

The main summit will follow the BRICS Business Forum on September 11, also at Bharat Mandapam, along with a session of the Women’s Business Alliance.

India has already held more than 350 BRICS-related meetings and high-level engagements across over 25 cities as part of its chairship.

The expanded 11-member BRICS grouping comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia became a full member in 2025.

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A separate group of 10 partner countries — Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam — participates in the broader BRICS framework but does not have full-member status.

The grouping operates across three broad pillars: political and security cooperation; economic and financial cooperation; and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The summit is expected to conclude with a joint Leaders’ Declaration, subject to consensus among members.

The gathering also provides India with an important platform for bilateral engagement with major partners, particularly Russia and China, while allowing New Delhi to push priorities associated with the Global South.

India has held the BRICS chairship four times — in 2012, 2016, 2021 and now in 2026 — with each presidency reflecting the changing priorities of the grouping and New Delhi’s diplomatic agenda.

During its first chairship in 2012, India sought to give greater institutional shape to what was then a relatively informal grouping. Its push for a multilateral development bank financed by emerging economies eventually contributed to the establishment of the New Development Bank in 2014.

At the 2016 Goa Summit, held under the theme “Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions”, India placed greater emphasis on counter-terrorism, regional connectivity and collective security. New Delhi also used the platform to call for stronger international action against terrorist networks and cross-border financing of terrorism.

India’s third chairship came in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the summit to be held virtually. The period also coincided with heightened military tensions along the Line of Actual Control with China.

Under the theme “BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus,” India sought to maintain the functioning of the multilateral grouping while focusing on public health, economic recovery and diplomatic consensus.

In 2026, India assumes the chairship of a substantially larger BRICS. Its priorities include strengthening financial and economic cooperation, advancing technological collaboration, promoting sustainable development and giving greater voice to Global South concerns.

The Delhi summit, therefore, is expected to serve not only as a stocktaking exercise for BRICS at 20 but also as a test of how an expanded grouping can translate its growing economic and geopolitical weight into concrete cooperation.