Overview
- India will host the 18th BRICS leaders' summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Sept. 12–13, bringing presidents and prime ministers from the expanded 11-member grouping together for two days of talks.
- Deep divisions over the war involving Iran, especially between Iran and the UAE, have already blocked minister-level consensus and now complicate efforts to draft a joint BRICS declaration, a difficulty Kremlin officials have publicly acknowledged.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are confirmed to attend, and high-profile bilateral meetings on the sidelines—most notably Modi–Xi and Modi–Putin—are expected to shape bilateral ties and signal diplomatic shifts.
- The conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed crude prices above $100 a barrel, raising pressure for BRICS to produce usable economic steps on energy, supply chains and trade even if political consensus proves elusive.
- India is using its 2026 chairship to push a development agenda focused on resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability while deploying extensive security and logistics in Delhi and managing the cohesion challenges created by BRICS expansion since 2024.