BRICS Summit Adopts New Delhi Declaration, Shifts to Geopolitical Platform

The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi concluded on September 12, 2026, with the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration, a comprehensive document that marks a strategic shift for the bloc from an economic forum to a geopolitical platform. Hosted under India's chairmanship with the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," the summit brought together leaders from the expanded group of 11 member nations and 10 partner countries. The declaration, described as the longest BRICS leaders' statement in a decade, condemned the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir and called for zero tolerance on cross-border terrorism. It also pushed back against unilateral tariffs and economic sanctions not authorized by the UN Security Council, urging the restoration of a fully functioning WTO dispute settlement mechanism. On financial matters, the bloc endorsed local currency settlement and payment interoperability over the creation of a single BRICS currency.