New Delhi, September 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s 2026 BRICS presidency demonstrated its ability to bring together an increasingly diverse grouping and build consensus on key issues despite a challenging geopolitical and economic environment, experts said at a post-summit roundtable in New Delhi.
The 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on September 12-13 under India’s chairmanship, brought together the expanded 11-member grouping and concluded with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration. The declaration reaffirmed BRICS’ commitment to consensus-based cooperation across political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people pillars.
Distinguished diplomats, policy experts, academics, think-tank representatives and members of the strategic community participated in the roundtable, titled ‘Post BRICS Summit 2026: Presidency and Lessons for India’, organised by the Chintan Research Foundation three days after the summit.
Participants said the summit highlighted India’s ability to convene a diverse grouping and secure agreement on several areas of cooperation. Discussions also focused on the declaration’s reference to the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, the call for zero tolerance towards terrorism and disruption of terror financing, and the broader question of how BRICS should evolve following its expansion.
Speakers noted that under India’s chairmanship, the BRICS agenda extended beyond traditional discussions on geopolitics and de-dollarisation to include trade resilience, institutional reform, security, health, food and energy security, climate change, technology, entrepreneurship, people-to-people exchanges, women’s empowerment, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and education.
They said the broader agenda reflected an effort to develop BRICS as a platform for Global South cooperation rather than limiting it to a narrowly geopolitical grouping.
Shambhu L Hakki, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Economic Relations and G20) in the Ministry of External Affairs and India’s G20 and BRICS Sous-Sherpa, highlighted the challenges involved in steering the grouping during a period of global and regional uncertainty.
He pointed to the New Delhi Declaration as an important outcome and said the participation of institutions and groupings including the African Union, ASEAN, CELAC, GCC and BIMSTEC widened the scope of cooperation and representation among developing countries.
The summit also saw the heads of National Standardization Bodies discuss greater harmonisation of standards and ways to reduce trade barriers. Participants at the roundtable highlighted the Troika Agreement as an instrument for maintaining institutional continuity as the BRICS presidency changes annually.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called on the 11-member grouping to work on 10 global governance reform proposals in the coming months with the aim of developing a unified BRICS Reform Roadmap ahead of China’s 2027 presidency. The New Delhi Declaration formally expressed support for China’s chairship and the 19th BRICS Summit in 2027.
Former diplomat Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar said one of the key tests for India had been securing consensus among members facing differing geopolitical and economic circumstances.
He said the New Delhi Declaration focused significantly on practical cooperation and stressed that areas of agreement should translate into implementation rather than remain commitments on paper.
Sajjanhar also said India had sought to shape BRICS as a collaborative rather than confrontational forum. The roundtable discussed growing interest among other major groupings in cooperation with BRICS, particularly in areas such as connectivity, global supply chains and finance.
The participation of leaders from Russia, China and Iran also featured in the discussions, along with the bilateral interaction between the Iranian President and a senior UAE representative on the sidelines of the summit.
The experts also examined the future of de-dollarisation, the absence of a common BRICS currency and the need to strengthen cross-border payment mechanisms and the New Development Bank.
China’s proposal for a BRICS open-source artificial intelligence community was discussed, although participants noted reservations among some members. The summit, meanwhile, maintained India’s emphasis on a “humanity-first” approach and practical cooperation.
Participants cautioned that many outcomes of multilateral processes are necessarily long-term and may take time to translate into tangible results.
BRICS expansion was another major theme of the discussion. Participants stressed the need to pay greater attention to interest from South Asian countries and their potential contribution to the grouping.
Pakistan’s possible inclusion was discussed in terms of the complications it could create for the grouping, while Malaysia was cited as a country that could add further weight to BRICS. Participants also called for sustained economic engagement with partner countries such as Cuba and Bolivia.
The roundtable concluded with recommendations for faster implementation of cross-border payment mechanisms, a BRICS grain exchange and remote-sensing satellite constellations, besides further strengthening the New Development Bank.
The experts also identified wealth creation from waste as a possible area for practical cooperation among BRICS members.
The discussions ultimately focused on the extent to which India’s 2026 presidency could consolidate cooperation within an expanded BRICS and strengthen its role as a platform for Global South countries.
The official New Delhi Declaration noted that BRICS’ expansion reflected the grouping’s influence and appeal as a platform for inclusive global governance, while calling for greater coordination, continuity and long-term institutional development.
FOLLOW NOW
