TL;DR
On September 12–13, 2026, the 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi, India, marking the 20th anniversary of the BRICS cooperation mechanism. On September 12, Xinhua released the summary of the New Delhi Declaration, reaffirming commitments to global governance reform and stronger "three-pillar" cooperation of the expanded BRICS.
Event overview
On September 12, 2026, the first plenary session of the 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi, India. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended, delivered an important speech and met Indian Prime Minister Modi. The summit ran from September 12 to 13, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the BRICS mechanism and the first summit of the expanded "Greater BRICS Cooperation."
On September 12, Xinhua released the summary of the New Delhi Declaration, setting out the BRICS countries' common positions on improving global governance, international and regional peace and security, and sustainable global economic growth.
Key facts
- Time and place: September 12–13, 2026, New Delhi, India; held on the 20th anniversary of BRICS.
- Core positions: Leaders reaffirmed the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity and democracy, openness and inclusiveness, enhanced cooperation and consensus; they pledged to strengthen the "three-pillar" cooperation of the expanded BRICS in political security, economy and finance, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
- Global governance reform: Renewed the urgent call to reform the Bretton Woods institutions; urged the quota increase agreed at the 16th General Review of Quotas to take effect promptly and meaningful quota realignment at the 17th Review; supported the WTO-centered multilateral trading system and strongly urged restoring the two-tier binding WTO dispute settlement system.
- UN and Security Council reform: Reaffirmed support for comprehensive reform of the UN, including the Security Council, to increase representation of developing countries and amplify the voice of the Global South.
- International and regional security: Expressed grave concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East and West Asia, calling for maximum restraint and for ensuring unimpeded global trade, supply chains and energy flows.
- Economic and financial cooperation: Encouraged the BRICS payment taskforce to pursue practical cross-border payment solutions; looked forward to completing the ninth BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement drill in time and to discussions on admitting new members.
- Science, technology and AI: Recognized AI's opportunities for growth; acknowledged the contribution of the Shanghai World AI Conference and the high-level meeting on global AI governance to international cooperation.
Official sources
- Xinhua, Summary of the New Delhi Declaration (September 12, 2026): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7684747326627267091/
- PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs news: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/zyxw/
- People's Daily World: http://world.people.com.cn/index1.html