| BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi brought together leaders of an eleven-member bloc on 12 and 13 September at Bharat Mandapam, producing a unanimously adopted declaration alongside a smaller, less-noticed moment that told its own story about the bloc’s internal power dynamics. This guide covers what the summit actually decided, what happened at the leaders’ dinner that night, and what the two events together suggest about where India and China each stand inside BRICS. Universalnest tracks summits like this one as part of its ongoing Current Affairs coverage of shifting global governance structures. |
What Was the 18th BRICS Summit? Dates, Host, and an 11-Member Bloc
The 18th BRICS Summit was held on 12 and 13 September 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, hosted by India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fourth BRICS chairship. India previously held the chairship in 2012, 2016, and 2021, making 2026 its fourth turn leading the grouping’s rotating presidency.
| Summit Detail | Value |
| Dates | 12 to 13 September 2026 |
| Venue | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi |
| Host and chair | India, PM Narendra Modi |
| India’s chairship count | 4th (2012, 2016, 2021, 2026) |
| Full members | 11 |
| Share of world population | Around 49.5% |
| Share of global GDP | Around 40% |
| Share of global trade | Around 26% |
BRICS started in 2009 as a four-country grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, joined by South Africa in 2011. The 2024 and 2025 expansions brought in Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, taking the bloc to its current eleven-member scale. For the full breakdown of who joined and when, our earlier coverage on BRICS Expansion 2024 to 2026 walks through each addition in detail.
What the New Delhi Declaration Says – 140 Points, Adopted Unanimously
BRICS leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration on the first day of the summit, a 140-paragraph consensus document covering global governance reform, trade, security, and finance.
| Declaration Topic | Position Taken |
| UN reform | Backs expanded roles for India and Brazil at the UN Security Council |
| Terrorism | Condemns the April 22 Jammu and Kashmir attack, calls for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism |
| Trade and tariffs | Criticises unilateral tariffs and non-UN-authorised sanctions, without naming the United States directly |
| Ukraine | Generic call for dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy, no direct mention of the country by name |
| Finance | Advances local currency settlement and financial messaging interoperability among members |
| Climate | Opposes carbon border adjustment mechanisms as disguised protectionism |
The declaration’s language on trade and sanctions stands out for what it avoids as much as what it says. Criticising the global trade war without naming the United States lets every member sign on regardless of their individual relationship with Washington, a pattern consistent with how BRICS has handled contentious geopolitical language in past declarations. The same caution shows up on Ukraine, where the generic wording reflects Russia’s status as a founding member and the difficulty of getting eleven governments to agree on stronger phrasing.
Xi Jinping Skipped the Gala Dinner – Here Is What Is Confirmed
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the BRICS summit sessions and held a bilateral meeting with Modi on India-China border de-escalation, then skipped the gala dinner Modi hosted that same evening at Bharat Mandapam.
Confirmed facts, based on reporting from the day:
- Xi arrived in New Delhi on 12 September and attended the full summit programme.
- He held a bilateral meeting with Modi focused on easing tensions along the disputed border.
- He did not attend the evening gala dinner, which featured a cultural performance and a musical collaboration between artists from BRICS member and partner countries.
- No official reason was given by either Beijing or New Delhi. One source said Xi returned to his hotel to rest.
| Gala Dinner | Status |
| Vladimir Putin (Russia) | Attended |
| Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (Kazakhstan) | Attended |
| Prabowo Subianto (Indonesia) | Attended |
| Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO) | Attended |
| Xi Jinping (China) | Did not attend |
What follows is analysis, not confirmed fact. Some observers noted that a single skipped dinner should not automatically be read as a diplomatic snub, especially given the substantive progress made in the same day’s bilateral talks on the border dispute. Others pointed to a similar pattern at the 2025 BRICS summit in Rio, where Xi skipped the gathering entirely after Brazil arranged a state dinner specifically honouring Modi, a decision some Chinese commentary reportedly linked to discomfort with India being positioned as the marquee guest. Applied cautiously to New Delhi, where Modi was host by default rather than by special arrangement, the comparison is suggestive rather than conclusive.
India and China Are Both Positioning as BRICS’ Lead Voice
The same day produced two different signals from Xi Jinping, substantive engagement through the border talks and ceremonial distance through the dinner absence, and both are worth reading together rather than separately.
India used its fourth chairship to run more than 350 BRICS meetings across over 25 cities during 2026, positioning itself as the bloc’s active organiser and, per outside experts, its bridge builder toward the wider Global South. China, as the bloc’s largest economy, has historically treated itself as BRICS’ natural anchor. When a host nation’s profile rises inside a grouping China sees itself leading, ceremonial choices like dinner attendance become one of the few low-cost ways to signal where the balance of prestige should sit, without disrupting the substantive cooperation happening in parallel. Whether that dynamic fully explains the New Delhi dinner absence remains an open question rather than a settled one, and readers should treat it as an interpretive lens rather than a confirmed motive.
Why the New Delhi Summit Matters for the Global South and Beyond
The 2026 summit arrived twenty years after BRICS first emerged as a grouping concept, and India used the milestone to press its case for reformed multilateralism on behalf of developing economies. The declaration’s UN Security Council language, its finance provisions on local currency settlement, and its rejection of carbon border adjustment mechanisms all serve the same underlying goal, shifting more decision-making weight toward the Global South within existing global institutions rather than building entirely new ones.
This also places BRICS in direct contrast with the older, narrower forums it is increasingly compared against. For a full side-by-side breakdown of how BRICS’ membership, decision mechanism, and economic weight compare to the G7 and G20, see our detailed comparison on G7 vs G20 vs BRICS.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many members does BRICS have in 2026?
BRICS has 11 full members as of the 2026 New Delhi summit, following the 2024 and 2025 expansions that added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Indonesia to the original five founding and early member states.
What is the New Delhi Declaration?
The New Delhi Declaration is a 140-paragraph consensus document unanimously adopted by BRICS leaders on 12 September 2026, covering UN reform, terrorism, trade, sanctions, and finance positions agreed among all eleven member states.
Did Xi Jinping skip the entire BRICS summit?
No. Xi Jinping attended the full summit programme and held a bilateral meeting with Modi on border de-escalation. He specifically skipped the evening gala dinner Modi hosted, not the summit sessions themselves.
Has Xi Jinping skipped a BRICS event before?
Yes. At the 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Xi skipped the gathering entirely, sending Premier Li Qiang instead, reportedly after Brazil arranged a state dinner specifically honouring Modi’s visit.
What is India’s role as 2026 BRICS chair?
India holds the 2026 BRICS chairship, its fourth after 2012, 2016, and 2021, and ran more than 350 meetings across over 25 cities during the year, positioning itself as the bloc’s organiser and a bridge builder for the Global South.
Does the New Delhi Declaration mention Ukraine?
The declaration does not name Ukraine directly. It includes a generic call for international disputes to be resolved through dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy, reflecting the difficulty of aligning eleven member states on the issue.
