At the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi, the Iran conflict blocked a final declaration paragraph, while Chinese President Xi Jinping met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time in India since 2019.
Experts discuss expectations for the BRICS Summit 2026, including economic cooperation, alternative payment systems, the India-China relationship, global conflicts, and BRICS’s evolving role as a Global South platform.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said another round of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EAEU and BRICS was completed in New Delhi.
UAE Assistant Foreign Minister Omran Sharaf said the UAE is using its BRICS membership to deepen trade, economic and people-to-people connectivity between East and West ahead of the bloc’s summit in New Delhi.
As India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit, new trade data show China accounting for a larger share of BRICS merchandise trade, while India’s share remains considerably smaller.
The Indian Congress urged the government to use India’s BRICS chairmanship to strengthen solidarity, trade, and financial cooperation within the grouping.
A BRICS meeting in New Delhi brings together India, China and Russia, but the grouping’s impact will depend on whether expanded BRICS can deliver practical cooperation despite internal divisions and weak institutional mechanisms.
US tariffs and financial pressure may strengthen BRICS incentives for economic cooperation and payment alternatives, according to an Al Jazeera opinion piece.
Speaking at the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Brazil’s foreign minister said the bloc is entering a consolidation phase and rejected claims that BRICS is anti-Western or seeking to replace the dollar.
