Overview
- The leaders, meeting Saturday in New Delhi, unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration that expresses ‘‘deep concern’’ about escalation in Middle East/West Asia and calls for exercising maximum restraint.
- India’s chairmanship led marathon negotiations that ran into the early hours to bridge divisions among members with competing ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- The declaration condemns unilateral aggression without naming countries, urges protection of civilians and IAEA safeguards, and asks for full humanitarian access and adherence to UN resolutions.
- Leaders also advanced an economic package to boost intra‑BRICS trade by expanding local‑currency settlement, improving cross‑border payment links, and creating a continuity mechanism to implement decisions.
- The summit brought Xi Jinping’s first visit to India since 2019 and showed New Delhi’s diplomatic push to hold the expanded 11‑member bloc together while the group readies China to assume next year’s BRICS chair.