Overview
- Leaders at the 18th BRICS Summit approved the New Delhi Declaration after talks held on September 12–13, producing a unanimous communique that member states signed in New Delhi.
- India’s chairship and intensive Sherpa‑level diplomacy were widely credited with bridging divisions between rival members and keeping Iran and the UAE at the same table.
- The declaration endorses greater use of national currencies, faster and cheaper cross‑border payments, interoperability between national payment systems, expansion of the New Development Bank and sharing of India’s digital public infrastructure such as Aadhaar and UPI.
- Coverage and analysts noted major limits in the text: most commitments are framed as voluntary programmatic steps, the declaration omits direct references to Ukraine and uses general language on West Asia tensions, and it lacks binding delivery timetables beyond the NDB.
- The summit sharpened Western concern about gradual de‑dollarization and prompted criticism that BRICS condemns Western sanctions while some members use export controls and market restrictions, leaving implementation and oversight as the near‑term test.