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VIDEO EXPLAINER | 31 OCTOBER 2026
India chairs BRICS in 2026 for the fourth time, under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’. It hosted the Foreign Ministers’ meeting (14-15 May), the 11th Foreign Policy Dialogue (5 June) and the 16th NSAs’ meeting (23 June) in New Delhi. The 18th BRICS Summit followed on 12-13 September 2026, opening at Bharat Mandapam and adopting the New Delhi Declaration. BRICS turned 20 in 2026, and China takes the chair in 2027.
What happened
India hosted the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on 14-15 May 2026, chaired by EAM S. Jaishankar.
The Foreign Ministers’ meeting ended with a Chair’s Statement and Outcome Document (15 May 2026), not a joint communique.
Day two of the FM meeting had a session themed ‘BRICS@20’, marking the 20th anniversary of BRICS.
The MEA hosted the 11th BRICS Foreign Policy Dialogue in New Delhi on 5 June 2026.
The 16th BRICS National Security Advisers’ Meeting was held in New Delhi on 23 June 2026 (programme 22-23 June).
The NSAs reviewed the BRICS Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism (21-22 May 2026) and the one on Security in the use of ICTs (8-9 June 2026).
After the NSAs’ meeting, delegation heads made a joint call on PM Modi.
China was represented at the NSAs’ meeting by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who met NSA Ajit Doval.
The XVIII (18th) BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026.
The summit opened at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 12 September 2026; Russian President Vladimir Putin attended.
PM Modi chaired the session on ‘Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism’, which ended with the adoption of the New Delhi BRICS Leaders’ Declaration.
The Declaration records that China and Russia, as UNSC permanent members, support Brazil’s and India’s aspirations to a greater UN role, including in the Security Council.
The theme of India’s Chairship is ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’.
The four key pillars of the Chairship are Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.
The theme reflects the people-centric, ‘humanity-first’ approach the PM set out at the 2025 Rio Summit.
The Chairship logo has petals in the colours of all BRICS members, with the ‘Namaste’ gesture at the centre.
Background and the rules behind it
BRICS has 11 members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.
South Africa’s inclusion was agreed in 2010; it attended the 3rd BRICS Summit at Sanya in 2011.
Ten partner countries joined in 2025: Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
India hosted the 8th summit at Goa on 15-16 October 2016 (‘Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions’), with a BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit.
The agreement establishing the New Development Bank (HQ Shanghai) and the treaty establishing the Contingent Reserve Arrangement were signed at the 6th summit, at Fortaleza.
Key terms
- Chairship: The member holding BRICS’s rotating chair for the year; it hosts meetings and the summit and sets the theme.
- Partner country: A country associated with BRICS below full membership; ten joined in 2025.
- Chair’s Statement: Summary issued on the host’s own authority when members do not agree a joint text.
- New Development Bank: Multilateral development bank set up by BRICS, headquartered in Shanghai.
- Contingent Reserve Arrangement: BRICS framework for short-term liquidity support among members during balance-of-payments pressure.
- BRICS Grain Exchange: Proposed grain trading platform within BRICS, still under discussion.
Constitutional / Legal / Institutional framework
CLAT angle
- Membership as of 2026: 11 members plus 10 partner countries. Indonesia joined in 2025; Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2024.
- Origins: formalised 2006 (New York), first summit Yekaterinburg 2009. The NDB is headquartered in Shanghai and was set up by an agreement signed at the Fortaleza summit.
- BRICS turned 20 in 2026 (‘BRICS@20’; stamps ‘2006-2026’). China chairs in 2027.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2006 | BRIC formalised at FM meeting, New York |
| 2009 | 1st BRIC Summit, Yekaterinburg |
| 2011 | South Africa at 3rd summit, Sanya |
| 2012-03-29 | 4th summit, New Delhi |
| 2016-10-15 | 8th summit, Goa |
| 2024 | Expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE |
Mnemonic / memory hook
Remember the trap.
(1) June 2026 BRICS events: 11th Foreign Policy Dialogue (5 Jun) and 16th NSAs’ meeting (23 Jun; programme 22-23 Jun). The FMs met 14-15 May and the summit was 12-13 Sep. (2) The FM meeting output is a CHAIR’S STATEMENT, not a joint declaration.
Sources
Primary documents and reporting listed in the fact base: brics2026.gov.in, mea.gov.in, pmindia.gov.in, aninews.in. Lead image: Prime Minister’s Office, GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons.
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