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What is the story about?
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday formally announced that India will host the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
The summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries, along with leaders of groupings of the global south, and will also mark 20 years since the grouping was established in 2006.
What began as BRIC - Brazil, Russia, India and China - in 2006, added South Africa in 2010 and has since grown into an 11 member grouping that also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS has also included ten nations with a partner country status.
The expanded grouping accounts for nearly half of the world’s population, about 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade, according to figures cited by the government. Its greater economic weight, has also brought more diverse voices and strategic interests into a grouping rooted in what officials described is a consensus based framework.
As chair of BRICS since January 1, New Delhi said it has made efforts to facilitate transparent discussions across the over 350 engagements it has carried out this year.
“BRICS framework is a consensus based framework based on dialogue. As chair, our endeavour has been to facilitate dialogue, engagement and discussion among all members on all matters and wherever we can find consensus, bring forth those matters and continue dialogue where consensus isn’t reached,” officials said.
The discussions have taken place against dynamic geopolitical situations like the war in West Asia, disruption to international shipping and the increasing use, and threat, of sanctions by the United States -- challenges that often directly involve and impact member states.
Officials shared that they have seen a “fairly candid sharing of assessments and positions by BRICS members” during the multiple engagements they’ve held since January.
New Delhi will now have to translate a year of meetings into consensus at the leaders table and a joint declaration at the conclusion of the summit - one that all 11 members are prepared to endorse despite their bilateral friction and competing national interests.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the leaders expected to attend, sources said.
As the summit dates draw closer, it is set to take place against the U.S. threat of “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, a BRICS member, with “Operation Economic Outcast” underway where the US is also pursuing “quiet diplomacy” with those doing business with Iran before imposing secondary sanctions against them.
That puts fellow BRICS member China, one of Iran’s top trading partners, under the spotlight. The UAE, another BRICS member, has already suspended trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran “until further notice”.
How this backdrop shapes cooperation at the BRICS summit mid-September will be closely watched as New Delhi continues work towards finding consensus among member countries.
The search for consensus
India’s search for consensus in the run up to the BRICS summit is ongoing. Sources said members were actively engaged through the Sherpa channel to identify “landing zones” where agreement could be reached.
“We are working on the final joint statement. We are actively engaged with all Sherpas and a Sherpa meeting is scheduled before the summit,” officials said. “Our endeavour is to ensure we have discussion and dialogue and can articulate the perspective of BRICS as a whole, in some form or the other, at the summit level.”
Some themes that have been highlighted by members, especially in light of the West Asia war, sources said, include the importance of safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways, protection of civilian infrastructure, early resolution of the current crisis, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states, importance of dialogue and diplomacy, and importance of the UN charter.
However, reaching a consensus, even at the meetings leading up to the BRICS summit hasn’t been easy. For instance, the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in May ended without a joint statement because the members failed to agree on parts of the text dealing with West Asia.
All countries have continued to place their positions at BRICS meetings, sources said. India’s role as chair is to provide space for those positions to be expressed while working towards a statement acceptable to all members, they added.
Cheaper cross-border trade in focus
Economic and financial cooperation is one of the three main pillars of BRICS cooperation, the MEA said. Trade has been a central part of these discussions with a focus on intra-BRICS trade to become more balanced.
BRICS members have also for several years discussed settling more bilateral trade in local currencies. In the past, options discussed have included possible links between their fast-payment systems and central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. Officials said the focus was more on finding practical ways to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper.
“There have been discussions on practical mechanisms to reduce transaction costs for bilateral trade. These discussions are not aimed at any third country or grouping,” a source said.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra also said earlier this month that several options remained under discussion.
“Cross-border payments is an area of interest for all of us, including BRICS, because we feel there is a lot of scope for reducing cost,” Malhotra said at an event in Mumbai.
The RBI suggested that a proposal linking the digital currencies of BRICS members be placed on the grouping’s 2026 agenda, according to Reuters. Officials, however, have clarified that these topics are discussed at the FMCBG track which has met once already and will meet again in early September.
They also rejected suggestions that the exercise was aimed at dedollarisation or at targeting a particular country or grouping and distinguished these discussions from any talk of a BRICS currency.
On digital payments, sources said that New Delhi has shared its experience with UPI and is discussing greater interoperability between payment systems with some member countries. India has already connected its digital payment system with the UAE and sources said discussions and pilot programs are also underway with other countries.
The summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries, along with leaders of groupings of the global south, and will also mark 20 years since the grouping was established in 2006.
What began as BRIC - Brazil, Russia, India and China - in 2006, added South Africa in 2010 and has since grown into an 11 member grouping that also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS has also included ten nations with a partner country status.
The expanded grouping accounts for nearly half of the world’s population, about 40% of global GDP and 26% of global trade, according to figures cited by the government. Its greater economic weight, has also brought more diverse voices and strategic interests into a grouping rooted in what officials described is a consensus based framework.
As chair of BRICS since January 1, New Delhi said it has made efforts to facilitate transparent discussions across the over 350 engagements it has carried out this year.
“BRICS framework is a consensus based framework based on dialogue. As chair, our endeavour has been to facilitate dialogue, engagement and discussion among all members on all matters and wherever we can find consensus, bring forth those matters and continue dialogue where consensus isn’t reached,” officials said.
The discussions have taken place against dynamic geopolitical situations like the war in West Asia, disruption to international shipping and the increasing use, and threat, of sanctions by the United States -- challenges that often directly involve and impact member states.
Officials shared that they have seen a “fairly candid sharing of assessments and positions by BRICS members” during the multiple engagements they’ve held since January.
New Delhi will now have to translate a year of meetings into consensus at the leaders table and a joint declaration at the conclusion of the summit - one that all 11 members are prepared to endorse despite their bilateral friction and competing national interests.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the leaders expected to attend, sources said.
As the summit dates draw closer, it is set to take place against the U.S. threat of “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, a BRICS member, with “Operation Economic Outcast” underway where the US is also pursuing “quiet diplomacy” with those doing business with Iran before imposing secondary sanctions against them.
That puts fellow BRICS member China, one of Iran’s top trading partners, under the spotlight. The UAE, another BRICS member, has already suspended trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran “until further notice”.
How this backdrop shapes cooperation at the BRICS summit mid-September will be closely watched as New Delhi continues work towards finding consensus among member countries.
The search for consensus
India’s search for consensus in the run up to the BRICS summit is ongoing. Sources said members were actively engaged through the Sherpa channel to identify “landing zones” where agreement could be reached.
“We are working on the final joint statement. We are actively engaged with all Sherpas and a Sherpa meeting is scheduled before the summit,” officials said. “Our endeavour is to ensure we have discussion and dialogue and can articulate the perspective of BRICS as a whole, in some form or the other, at the summit level.”
Some themes that have been highlighted by members, especially in light of the West Asia war, sources said, include the importance of safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways, protection of civilian infrastructure, early resolution of the current crisis, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states, importance of dialogue and diplomacy, and importance of the UN charter.
However, reaching a consensus, even at the meetings leading up to the BRICS summit hasn’t been easy. For instance, the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in May ended without a joint statement because the members failed to agree on parts of the text dealing with West Asia.
All countries have continued to place their positions at BRICS meetings, sources said. India’s role as chair is to provide space for those positions to be expressed while working towards a statement acceptable to all members, they added.
Cheaper cross-border trade in focus
Economic and financial cooperation is one of the three main pillars of BRICS cooperation, the MEA said. Trade has been a central part of these discussions with a focus on intra-BRICS trade to become more balanced.
BRICS members have also for several years discussed settling more bilateral trade in local currencies. In the past, options discussed have included possible links between their fast-payment systems and central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. Officials said the focus was more on finding practical ways to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper.
“There have been discussions on practical mechanisms to reduce transaction costs for bilateral trade. These discussions are not aimed at any third country or grouping,” a source said.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra also said earlier this month that several options remained under discussion.
“Cross-border payments is an area of interest for all of us, including BRICS, because we feel there is a lot of scope for reducing cost,” Malhotra said at an event in Mumbai.
The RBI suggested that a proposal linking the digital currencies of BRICS members be placed on the grouping’s 2026 agenda, according to Reuters. Officials, however, have clarified that these topics are discussed at the FMCBG track which has met once already and will meet again in early September.
They also rejected suggestions that the exercise was aimed at dedollarisation or at targeting a particular country or grouping and distinguished these discussions from any talk of a BRICS currency.
On digital payments, sources said that New Delhi has shared its experience with UPI and is discussing greater interoperability between payment systems with some member countries. India has already connected its digital payment system with the UAE and sources said discussions and pilot programs are also underway with other countries.
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