Stable Trajectory in an Unstable World

Source: Eenadu | Original Published At: 2026-09-11 19:53:26 UTC

Key Points

• The 18th BRICS summit is being held in Delhi, marking two decades since the grouping emerged as a multilateral platform.
• BRICS expanded from Brazil, Russia, India and China to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, with about 30 countries expressing interest.
• BRICS is focusing on local-currency trade, reform of the IMF and World Bank, expansion of the UN Security Council, infrastructure finance, climate finance, food security, health and digital security.
• The New Development Bank has provided more than $43 billion for 139 projects, with about 30% of lending in local currencies.
• About 65% of intra-BRICS trade is conducted in local currencies, although the total remains below $1.1 trillion.
• Differences exist among BRICS members over anti-Western posture, de-dollarization, cyber sovereignty and technology standards, but many summit agenda items are expected to proceed by consensus.
• The Delhi summit may be affected by Iran-related tensions and US tariff disputes, but is expected to prioritize economic issues across more than 60 agenda items.