Overview
- The 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on Sept. 12–13, concluded with leaders adopting the unanimous New Delhi Declaration that sets the bloc’s priorities for the coming year.
- India used its chairship to push deliverables, winning agreements to create a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for infectious diseases, a logistics and supply‑chain cooperation framework, an incubator/startup network and an urban mobility hub.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will spearhead a BRICS open‑source AI ecosystem to share large language models, training and seminars, and confirmed China will host the next summit in 2027.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that the weaponisation of technology and control of critical minerals could block shared progress, and intensive diplomacy overcame sharp Iran–UAE differences so all members would sign the joint declaration.
- With BRICS now 11 members representing about half the world’s population and roughly 40% of global GDP, leaders proposed institution‑building steps such as a troika and monitoring mechanisms but said implementation and oversight of agreed projects are the next urgent tasks.