BRICS summit 2026: What are the key takeaways?

Leaders of the BRICS group of nations unanimously adopted a associated declaration connected the archetypal time of the two-day acme successful the Indian capital, New Delhi, contempt divisions among members implicit the wars successful Iran and Ukraine.

The New Delhi Declaration, adopted connected Saturday, called for restraint successful the Middle East but avoided condemning the US-Israeli strikes oregon Iran’s targeting of Gulf countries successful the region. It besides criticised the planetary commercialized warfare without naming the United States.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, were among the leaders attending the gathering of the 11-member bloc successful New Delhi astatine a clip of planetary upheaval caused by the US-Israel warfare connected Iran, Trump’s tariff warfare and the US’s unilateral decisions to beforehand its overseas policy.

Al Jazeera’s Um-e-Kulsoom Shariff, reporting from New Delhi, said the radical “steered clear” of naming immoderate countries, adjacent connected the contented of wide-ranging US tariffs. “We’ve seen BRICS countries who person been targeted, beryllium it India, Russia, China, oregon immoderate other, but they person stayed clear,” she reported.

“While they said unilateral tariffs are condemned and they enactment against planetary law, they person not named the US. So India had to support successful caput that it has bilateral commercialized relations with different countries, and truthful bash others.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BRICS had reached a “coming of age” infinitesimal and called connected the Global South to go a “rule-shaper” alternatively than simply judge rules acceptable elsewhere.

Here are cardinal takeaways from the declaration from the summit:

What is BRICS?

BRICS was founded successful 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, chiefly arsenic an economical forum. South Africa joined the grouping 4 years later. It has since expanded to see Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

The BRICS nations represent astir fractional the world’s colonisation and relationship for astir 40 percent of planetary gross home merchandise (GDP).

The bloc has sought greater power for processing economies successful institutions traditionally dominated by Western powers and has pushed for reforms to bodies, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.

Conveying India’s position, Modi insisted that the bloc should not beryllium interpreted simply arsenic an anti-Western project.

“BRICS is not against anyone,” helium said, portion arguing that the Global South should play a bigger relation successful shaping planetary governance.

US-Israel warfare connected Iran

The warfare was 1 of the biggest tests of whether the expanded BRICS could scope a communal position.

Leaders expressed “deep interest implicit the continued escalation of tensions” successful the Middle East and called for “maximum restraint”, portion urging countries to debar actions that could further aggravate the situation. It did not notation the US, Israel, Iran oregon the Gulf states explicitly.

China’s Xi said successful a connection the warfare “does not service the communal interests of the planetary community”, and called for a governmental colony and a imperishable and broad ceasefire.

In May, BRICS overseas ministers failed to agree connected a associated statement amid differences implicit the war. Iran is simply a subordinate of BRICS, arsenic is the UAE, which has faced Iranian attacks during the conflict.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao said New Delhi scored a “significant diplomatic success” successful securing a declaration contempt “sharp differences betwixt Iran and the UAE”.

“Consensus was preserved, but lone done cautiously generalised language. In this, BRICS’s worth and its regulation was exposed: it tin support hard conversations live and affirm wide principles, but it struggles to delegate work oregon organise corporate enactment erstwhile determination is the occasional collision of the interests of its members,” she posted connected X.

The declaration besides raised interest implicit deliberate attacks connected civilian infrastructure and peaceful atomic facilities protected by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards – connection that could beryllium seen arsenic an indirect disapproval of US and Israeli attacks connected Iranian atomic sites.

During the 12-day warfare successful 2025, the US bombed 3 main Iranian atomic facilities astatine Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.

Praveen Donthi, elder expert astatine the International Crisis Group, said expectations for the BRICS acme were debased owed to geopolitical turbulence and clashing strategical interests.

“The members, invested successful the occurrence of this non-Western grouping, would beryllium reasonably satisfied with the humble outcome,” helium said.

Donthi added that India utilized its beardown ties with each members and worked down the scenes to merchandise the declaration, overcoming the biggest hurdle: convincing the UAE and Iran, who are connected other sides of the ongoing conflict.

Leaders of participating countries stitchery for a household photograph during the 18th BRICS Summit successful New Delhi connected September 13, 2026 [Handout/Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) via AFP]

Russia-Ukraine war

The Ukraine warfare remains different root of hostility wrong BRICS, peculiarly due to the fact that Russia is simply a founding subordinate of the group.

The declaration issued a generic telephone for planetary disputes to beryllium resolved done “dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy” without mentioning Ukraine.

However, BRICS leaders criticised unilateral sanctions not authorised by the United Nations Security Council.

“We telephone for the elimination of specified unlawful measures, which undermine planetary instrumentality and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter,” the connection said.

The presumption is important for Russia, which has faced extended Western sanctions since its full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022. India, meanwhile, has maintained adjacent relations with Moscow, importing lipid from Russia amid disruption to planetary lipid supplies since the US-Israel warfare connected Iran broke out.

Kremlin ⁠spokesman ⁠Dmitry Peskov said connected Sunday ⁠that Xi and Modi offered their services for bid talks connected Ukraine, and that ⁠Putin welcomed their readiness, authorities quality ⁠agency TASS ⁠reported.

Last year, Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff connected Indian goods arsenic a punishment for its acquisition of Russian crude. India has since chopped down its imports of Russian crude oil.

Support for Palestinian statehood

BRICS adopted overmuch much explicit connection connected Palestine.

The declaration expressed “firm opposition” to the forced displacement of Palestinians and to attempts to alteration the geography oregon demography of the occupied Palestinian territory.

It called for an extremity to Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza, unhindered humanitarian access, enactment for UNRWA, the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, and afloat UN rank for Palestine.

The bloc besides reiterated its enactment for a two-state solution and the constitution of a sovereign Palestinian authorities based connected the 1967 borders, with occupied East Jerusalem arsenic its capital.

US tariffs

The declaration raised interest implicit “unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures” that distort trade, portion besides opposing sanctions imposed without UNSC authorisation.

Washington has imposed tariffs connected respective BRICS countries, including China, Russia and India, and President Donald Trump has antecedently described the grouping arsenic “anti-American”. He threatened further tariffs against countries aligning themselves with it.

Speaking astatine the summit, Putin accused countries “accustomed to reasoning successful assemblage categories” of utilizing tariffs, sanctions and “brute force” to incorporate emerging competitors.

At the aforesaid time, the bloc called for practice to support planetary trade, proviso chains, vigor flows and maritime information arsenic wars disrupt planetary commerce.

Multipolar world

BRICS reiterated its “commitment to strengthening multilateralism and multipolarity”, noting that a multipolar satellite tin grow opportunities for Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) to make “constructive imaginable and bask universally beneficial, inclusive, sustainable and equitable economical globalisation and cooperation”.

Putin called for greater practice for Asia, Africa and Latin America connected the UNSC and argued that the displacement towards a multipolar satellite was being resisted by established powers.

Xi said BRICS countries should assistance steer the planetary bid towards greater “equity and justice”, portion Modi called for the Global South to determination from being a rule-taker to a “rule-shaper”.

“We person to alteration this pyramid of privilege into a level of partnership,” Modi told the summit.

Yet India has besides sought to region BRICS from the thought that it exists simply to face the West. “We are not against anyone; rather, we strive to determination guardant with the attack of taking everyone along,” helium asserted.