The Host City Transformation
Hosting a BRICS summit is a monumental task that visibly transforms a city. For the upcoming 18th summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, the city is undergoing a significant facelift. Key areas are being decorated with posters and illuminated displays,
giving the capital a festive appearance ahead of the high-profile gathering. The summit itself is scheduled to be held at the Bharat Mandapam, a modern exhibition and convention centre. This level of preparation involves not just aesthetics but also significant logistical planning, including extensive traffic management plans to ensure smooth transit for the numerous foreign delegations, which include heads of state and international organisations. These arrangements, while necessary, often lead to significant disruptions for residents, with road closures, diversions, and public holidays declared to ease congestion.
A Multi-Layered Security Shield
Ensuring the safety of multiple world leaders requires a security operation of immense scale and complexity. Ahead of the New Delhi summit, a multi-layered security framework is being put in place, involving a substantial portion of the Delhi Police, along with assistance from central armed police forces. Security measures include heightened surveillance across the capital, the use of drones for aerial monitoring, and strict access control protocols at hotels and the summit venue. Intelligence agencies are on high alert, sharing information and coordinating with neighboring states to monitor borders for any suspicious activity. These preparations are designed to counter a range of potential threats and ensure the event proceeds without incident, demonstrating the host nation's capacity to manage major international gatherings securely.
Setting the Substantive Agenda
Beyond the logistics and security, the core of the summit lies in its agenda. For its 2026 presidency, India has set the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. This framework guides the discussions, which are expected to cover a wide array of topics crucial to the bloc. Key among them is strengthening economic cooperation, with a particular focus on increasing the use of local currencies for trade and investment among member nations. The development of an alternative cross-border payment system, often dubbed BRICS Pay, remains a significant, though challenging, long-term goal to reduce dependence on Western-dominated financial infrastructure like SWIFT. The agenda also includes addressing global challenges such as climate change, energy and food security, counter-terrorism, and the reform of global governance institutions to give a greater voice to the Global South.
More Than Just a Summit
A BRICS summit is rarely just a single meeting. It is accompanied by a host of other forums and events designed to deepen cooperation across different sectors. The BRICS Business Forum, for instance, runs parallel to the leaders' summit, bringing together top executives and government officials to discuss trade, investment, and economic development. This platform allows the private sector to provide direct input into the policy-making process. Other associated events often include meetings of ministers for health, agriculture, and security, as well as forums on urbanisation and culture, all aimed at building a multi-faceted partnership that extends beyond high-level politics and economics. These parallel tracks are crucial for turning summit declarations into practical, on-the-ground cooperation.
Navigating Expansion and Internal Tensions
A key undercurrent in all summit preparations is managing the bloc's recent expansion. With the addition of new members like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, BRICS now represents nearly half the world's population. This growth enhances the group's demographic and economic weight but also introduces new complexities. Integrating new members with diverse economic and political interests is a significant challenge, raising the transaction costs of reaching consensus. There are known divergences of interest among founding members, particularly between India and China, on issues like the pace of expansion. While China and Russia have generally pushed for faster growth, India and Brazil have advocated a more calibrated approach. The preparations and eventual discussions must navigate these internal dynamics to maintain cohesion and ensure the enlarged group can function effectively.
