18th BRICS Summit to Begin in New Delhi, Leaders of Emerging Economies to Attend

New Delhi: The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled to begin at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 12, with India hosting the two-day gathering under its 2026 BRICS Chairship.

The Summit will bring together the 11 BRICS member countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The theme of India’s Chairship for 2026 is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali are among the leaders expected to participate in the Summit.

Brazil is being represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira, while Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud is also participating in the Summit.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Vietnam’s Prime Minister are also expected to participate in the wider BRICS engagement. They should be identified separately from the 11 BRICS member countries.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff are among the representatives of international organisations expected to participate in the event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a series of bilateral meetings with participating leaders on the sidelines of the Summit. Bilateral engagements with Russian President Vladimir Putin are also expected to be part of the diplomatic programme, subject to the official schedule.

Several participating leaders and senior representatives are arriving in New Delhi ahead of the Summit. The arrival schedule may change depending on individual travel arrangements and official programmes.

BRICS: From BRIC to an Expanded Grouping

The BRIC grouping was formalised during a meeting of the BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2006.

The first BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 16, 2009. The grouping subsequently expanded with the inclusion of South Africa following the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in September 2010.

South Africa participated for the first time in the third BRICS Summit, held in Sanya, China, in April 2011.

The grouping underwent another major expansion in January 2024, when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined as full members. Saudi Arabia has also been included in the expanded BRICS grouping.

India’s Fourth BRICS Chairship

India assumed the BRICS Chairship on January 1, 2026. This marks India’s fourth time leading the grouping, following its earlier Chairships in 2012, 2016 and 2021.

The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi is expected to focus on cooperation among emerging and developing economies, resilience, innovation, sustainability and strengthening multilateral cooperation.