BRICS Summit 2026: World Leaders to Gather in New Delhi — Who Is Attending and What Does India Gain?
NEW DELHI | September 10, 2026
India is preparing to host one of the most important diplomatic gatherings of the year as world leaders and senior representatives from the BRICS grouping arrive in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12–13, 2026.
The summit will be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, with India holding the BRICS chairmanship in 2026.
India has chosen the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” for its BRICS presidency, with discussions expected to cover global governance, trade, finance, technology, energy security, climate change, health and sustainable development.
The 2026 summit is particularly significant because BRICS has expanded considerably since its original formation, giving the grouping greater economic and geopolitical weight.
BRICS Now Has 11 Full Members
Following its expansion, BRICS currently has 11 full members:
🇧🇷 Brazil
🇷🇺 Russia
🇮🇳 India
🇨🇳 China
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇮🇷 Iran
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
The expansion has transformed BRICS from a grouping of five major emerging economies into a much broader coalition spanning Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Who Is Expected to Attend?
Several major world leaders are expected to participate in the New Delhi summit.
🇨🇳 China — Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be one of the most closely watched participants at the summit.
His visit is particularly significant for India-China relations. The two countries have experienced serious tensions in recent years, particularly over their disputed border.
A meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping could therefore become one of the most important diplomatic events surrounding the summit.
Beyond BRICS issues, the two leaders could discuss bilateral relations, trade, economic cooperation and broader regional developments.
🇷🇺 Russia — Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to attend the summit in New Delhi.
India and Russia maintain long-standing strategic relations covering defence, energy, nuclear cooperation, trade and geopolitics.
Russia's participation is particularly important for discussions on energy security, international trade and the evolving global financial system.
The summit will also provide an opportunity for India to maintain its strategic relationship with Moscow while simultaneously maintaining strong ties with Western countries.
🇮🇷 Iran — Masoud Pezeshkian
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is another important participant.
Iran's membership gives BRICS greater influence in the Middle East and adds another major energy-producing country to the grouping.
With tensions continuing across West Asia, discussions involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE could be particularly sensitive.
India is likely to push for dialogue and stability while protecting its own economic and energy interests.
🇿🇦 South Africa — Cyril Ramaphosa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to participate in the summit.
South Africa has played an important role in expanding BRICS' engagement with the African continent.
Its participation strengthens India's efforts to make BRICS more representative of the Global South.
🇮🇩 Indonesia — Prabowo Subianto
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is also expected to participate.
Indonesia's inclusion has significantly strengthened BRICS' presence in Southeast Asia and gives the grouping another major emerging economy with a large population and growing economic influence.
What Will BRICS Discuss?
The New Delhi summit is expected to focus on several major areas.
1. Reform of Global Institutions
India is expected to continue pushing for reforms in international institutions, including the United Nations and global financial institutions.
India has repeatedly argued that developing and emerging economies need greater representation in global decision-making structures.
BRICS provides India with a platform to build support for these reforms.
2. India-China Relations
The India-China relationship could become one of the most closely watched aspects of the summit.
BRICS provides an important diplomatic platform where the two countries can continue discussions despite their broader strategic differences.
Trade will also remain an important issue.
India and China are major economic powers, and maintaining stable commercial relations is important for both sides.
3. Reducing Dependence on the US Dollar
One of the most discussed BRICS issues is the possibility of increasing trade using local currencies.
However, this should not automatically be described as a plan to “end the dollar.”
India has generally taken a more practical approach, supporting mechanisms that can make cross-border transactions easier while avoiding unnecessary disruption to the existing international financial system.
BRICS countries could explore greater use of national currencies for bilateral trade and settlement.
4. BRICS Digital Payments and CBDCs
Another potentially important Indian initiative involves digital payments and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
India is interested in exploring ways to connect digital payment systems among BRICS countries.
If successful, such systems could eventually make cross-border payments:
Faster
Cheaper
More transparent
Less dependent on intermediaries
India's experience with UPI and digital public infrastructure gives it an important advantage in this area.
However, connecting different countries' financial systems would require significant regulatory and technical coordination.
5. Energy Security
Energy will be another major issue.
BRICS now includes several major energy producers, including:
Russia
Saudi Arabia
UAE
Iran
India is one of the world's largest energy consumers and therefore has a major interest in stable and affordable energy supplies.
BRICS cooperation could help members discuss energy security, supply chains and long-term energy cooperation.
6. Food Security
Food security is increasingly becoming a global strategic issue.
Climate change, geopolitical conflicts, supply-chain disruptions and rising production costs can affect food availability and prices.
India is expected to promote cooperation in agriculture, food supply chains and resilient food systems.
7. Green Energy and Climate Change
Climate change and clean energy are also expected to feature prominently.
India could use its BRICS presidency to promote cooperation in:
Renewable energy
Green technology
Climate finance
Sustainable infrastructure
Clean-energy investment
For developing countries, access to affordable green technology and financing remains a major challenge.
8. Startups, Technology and Innovation
Technology cooperation is another area where India has considerable potential.
India could promote collaboration among BRICS countries in:
Artificial intelligence
Startups
Digital infrastructure
Fintech
Cybersecurity
Emerging technologies
Research and development
Indian startups could potentially gain access to large emerging markets across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
What Does India Gain From Hosting BRICS?
🇮🇳 1. Greater Global Diplomatic Influence
Hosting BRICS gives India an opportunity to demonstrate its ability to bring together countries with very different political and economic interests.
India can position itself as an important bridge between developed economies, emerging markets and the Global South.
💰 2. New Trade Opportunities
The expanded BRICS market represents a huge economic opportunity.
Indian companies could benefit from greater cooperation in sectors such as:
Pharmaceuticals
Information technology
Engineering
Automobiles
Agriculture
Electronics
Renewable energy
Financial services
Greater trade facilitation could help Indian businesses enter new markets.
💳 3. Cheaper Cross-Border Payments
Improved payment connectivity could potentially reduce transaction costs for Indian businesses.
If BRICS members develop compatible digital-payment infrastructure, companies could eventually conduct transactions more efficiently without relying on multiple intermediaries.
However, such a system is still a developing proposal and should not be confused with an already operational BRICS-wide payment network.
🏭 4. More Resilient Supply Chains
The wars and geopolitical tensions of recent years have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains.
India can use BRICS cooperation to develop alternative sources for critical goods, energy and raw materials.
This could reduce excessive dependence on any single country or supply route.
🚀 5. Opportunities for Indian Startups
India's rapidly expanding startup and technology ecosystem could benefit from stronger BRICS cooperation.
Indian companies could potentially expand into markets such as:
Brazil → Africa → Middle East → Southeast Asia
This could create opportunities for Indian technology, fintech, healthcare and digital-service companies.
But BRICS Also Faces Major Challenges
The expansion of BRICS has increased its economic and geopolitical importance—but it has also made consensus more difficult.
The members have very different political systems, foreign-policy priorities and economic interests.
For example:
India and China have unresolved strategic and border issues.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have historically had major regional differences.
Russia and Western countries remain deeply divided over the war in Ukraine.
These differences could make it difficult for BRICS to agree on sensitive geopolitical issues.
Is BRICS Becoming an Alternative to the G7?
BRICS is increasingly being compared with the G7, but the two organizations are fundamentally different.
BRICS represents a broad group of emerging and developing economies, while the G7 consists primarily of advanced industrial economies.
BRICS also does not have the same level of political alignment among its members.
Therefore, it would be inaccurate to describe BRICS simply as a replacement for the G7.
Instead, BRICS is becoming an increasingly important platform through which emerging economies can coordinate their economic and diplomatic interests.
The Biggest Opportunity for India
The biggest benefit for India may not be a single trade agreement or financial initiative.
It is strategic positioning.
India will have the opportunity to engage with:
China + Russia + Iran + Saudi Arabia + UAE + Brazil + South Africa + Indonesia + other emerging economies
while simultaneously maintaining relationships with the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and other partners.
This reflects India's broader strategy of strategic autonomy and multi-alignment.
What Will the World Be Watching?
The biggest areas of attention during the New Delhi summit are likely to include:
🔹 Modi-Xi Jinping meeting
🔹 Putin's India visit
🔹 BRICS payment mechanisms
🔹 Local-currency trade
🔹 West Asia tensions
🔹 Global economic governance
🔹 UN reforms
🔹 Energy security
🔹 Digital currencies and payments
🔹 AI, technology and startups
🔹 Global South cooperation
Conclusion
The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026 comes at a time when the global economic and geopolitical order is undergoing major changes.
For India, hosting the summit provides a significant opportunity to strengthen its position as a major global power and a leading voice of the Global South.
The challenge will be turning BRICS from a large and diverse political grouping into a platform capable of delivering practical economic, financial, technological and development-related outcomes.
If India succeeds in advancing cooperation on trade, digital payments, energy, technology and global governance, the New Delhi summit could become an important milestone in the evolution of BRICS—and another demonstration of India's growing role in global diplomacy.
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