BRICS

21 mentions in the news, newest first.

• 2026-09-14

  BRICS declaration backs push to finalise WHO's pathogen access and benefit sharing annex

  The New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit called for constructive engagement in the stalled negotiations over the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex to the World Health Organization's Pandemic Agreement, while reaffirming the sovereign right of states over their own biological resources and over national access and benefit sharing legislation. The annex is meant to guarantee that countries sharing pathogen samples and genetic sequence data during an outbreak receive a fair share of the vaccines, treatments and diagnostics later developed from that data, a principle developing countries have pushed since the Covid-19 pandemic exposed unequal access. BRICS leaders also welcomed a new sub working group to build an integrated early warning system for infectious disease outbreaks among member countries.

• 2026-09-13

  BRICS Declaration condemns Pahalgam terror attack, backs zero tolerance on terrorism

  The BRICS New Delhi Declaration, adopted unanimously on 12 September 2026, condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, in which 26 people were killed and several others injured. The declaration expressed the grouping's commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms, called for zero tolerance and an end to double standards in counter terrorism, and flagged cross border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens as specific concerns. It reiterated that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group, and pointed to the BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group as the mechanism for coordinating cooperation among member states.

• 2026-09-13

  Modi and Xi hold first bilateral talks on Indian soil in seven years, commit to fair resolution of boundary question

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks in New Delhi on 12 September 2026 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, their first meeting on Indian soil in seven years and their third consecutive annual meeting after Kazan in 2024 and Tianjin in 2025. The two leaders said differences should not become disputes and committed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question, with Modi saying both sides must be guided by three mutuals of mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest. They also agreed to address structural trade imbalances and facilitate more predictable market access even as China's trade surplus with India has grown past 112 billion US dollars, and Modi thanked China for its support for India's BRICS chairship.

• 2026-09-13

  Modi tells BRICS Security Council reform can no longer wait, proposes troika to track summit follow up

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the BRICS Summit's closed session on 12 September 2026 that reform of the United Nations Security Council can no longer wait and that text based negotiations need a specific time period and clear outcomes, with China and Russia reiterating their support for India and Brazil to play a greater role at the UN. Modi also proposed a BRICS continuity and implementation mechanism built around a rotating troika of the current, previous and incoming chairs, along with a secure digital repository to track the implementation status of each decision, since BRICS itself has no permanent secretariat. He described the current model of global governance as a pyramid concentrating power at the top and called instead for a platform of partnership based on representation, responsiveness and rule making.

• 2026-09-13

  BRICS Declaration opposes unilateral tariffs and carbon border adjustment mechanisms

  The BRICS New Delhi Declaration voiced serious concern over the rise of unilateral tariff and non tariff measures inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules, and separately opposed carbon border adjustment mechanisms such as the European Union's when applied in a unilateral, punitive, discriminatory or protectionist manner. Members converged on a BRICS Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, with some countries ready to sign subject to completing domestic processes, and agreed to work towards an annual joint customs enforcement operation against smuggling. The declaration also encouraged the BRICS Payment Task Force to keep developing fast, low cost and transparent cross border payment solutions to expand trade settlement in local currencies, though the grouping again stopped short of proposing a common BRICS currency.

• 2026-09-13

  Delhi Declaration endorses Russia backed plan for BRICS Grain Exchange and farmer network AGRIN

  The BRICS New Delhi Declaration backed continued work on a Russia championed BRICS Grain Exchange, a proposed digital platform first floated in 2023 to trade grain among member countries and eventually expand to other agricultural commodities, aiming to reduce reliance on grain trading platforms based in Europe and the United States. Leaders also agreed to establish the BRICS Agro Inputs, Genetic Resources and Information Network, a non binding and farmer centric platform for exchanging agricultural inputs and traditional knowledge, alongside a Global Forum on Farmers Rights in Seed Systems and a BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture. The declaration also flagged food security and acute food price volatility, including fertiliser shortages, as priority concerns and called for stronger national food reserve systems and climate adaptive seed systems.

• 2026-09-13

  BRICS backs peaceful use of space, reaffirms bid to prevent an arms race in outer space

  The BRICS New Delhi Declaration reaffirmed support for the peaceful use of outer space and for preventing an arms race in outer space, referred to as PAROS, along with opposing the weaponisation of space and the use of force against space objects. Leaders welcomed progress on the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation, a shared network of earth observation satellites, and on finalising amendments to let new BRICS space agencies join it, as well as on drafting terms of reference for a proposed BRICS Space Council. The declaration also referred to the 2014 Draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space submitted to the UN Conference on Disarmament, and backed non binding transparency and confidence building measures as a practical step toward an eventual legally binding PAROS instrument.

• 2026-09-12

  18th BRICS Summit opens in New Delhi under India's fourth chairship

  The 18th BRICS Summit opened at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 12 September 2026, a two day meeting running to 13 September under the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. This is India's fourth time chairing BRICS and follows a year long chairship spanning more than 350 meetings across 25 cities. Leaders attending include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, with discussions covering economic growth, trade, finance, technology and sustainable development alongside geopolitical issues such as West Asia and Ukraine. At the BRICS Business Forum ahead of the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was building economic bridges at a time when trade barriers were rising worldwide, noting India has signed free trade agreements with nearly 40 countries since 2014.

• 2026-09-12

  India's year long BRICS chairship delivers 20 sectoral outcomes ahead of the summit

  As the summit opened, India's year long 2026 BRICS chairship was reported to have produced 20 sectoral outcomes across trade, agriculture, energy and urban development, delivered through more than 350 ministerial and working group meetings held in 25 cities. Agriculture ministers agreed to set up BRICS Centres of Excellence on Agro Ecology for joint research on climate resilient farming, alongside a BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture to scale artificial intelligence based decision support and geospatial monitoring tools. On energy, members adopted guiding principles on energy storage and smart grids and launched a Digital Centre of Excellence for regulatory exchange, while on trade the chairship delivered an MSME cooperation portal, a startup and incubator network, a proposed BRICS Startup Innovation Fund and a 2026 to 2030 action plan on global value chains, alongside a BRICS Urban Mobility Hub and voluntary principles for climate resilient urban infrastructure.

• 2026-09-12

  Modi and Putin hold BRICS sidelines talks on 100 billion dollar trade target and defence ties

  Russian President Vladimir Putin held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, his first in person participation at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the war in Ukraine began in 2022. The two leaders discussed raising bilateral trade to 100 billion US dollars by 2030 from about 65 billion US dollars currently, including through the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030 covering infrastructure, energy and technology. On defence, the sides discussed possible BrahMos missile upgrades, remaining deliveries under the S-400 air defence contract, and talks on the proposed supply of Su-57 fighter jets, along with cooperation on critical minerals and civil nuclear energy. Modi also raised the safety of Indian seafarers in the Black Sea, and Putin invited him to Russia for the 24th India Russia Annual Summit, an invitation Modi accepted.

• 2026-09-12

  Xi Jinping arrives in Delhi for BRICS Summit, bilateral talks with Modi due on the sidelines

  Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on the morning of 12 September 2026 to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, his first visit to India in nearly seven years. A bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled on the sidelines of the summit, which would be the third consecutive year the two leaders have met, following their meetings in Kazan in 2024 and Tianjin in 2025. The visit builds on steps taken since 2024 to normalise relations after the 2020 Eastern Ladakh military standoff, including resumed direct flights, an updated visa regime, the restarted Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, and the reopening of three designated border trading points.

• 2026-09-11

  Xi Jinping confirmed to visit India for the 18th BRICS Summit, his first trip in seven years

  Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit India for the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026, his first visit to India in nearly seven years since the 2019 informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mamallapuram. A bilateral meeting between Xi and Modi is on the cards on the margins of the summit, which would follow their meeting in Kazan, Russia in 2024 on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit. Indian officials have called for stable and predictable India China ties ahead of the visit, and India, as the 2026 BRICS chair, is positioning the grouping as a complementary, development oriented forum rather than one adversarial to other blocs, while planning to sidestep contentious proposals such as a common BRICS currency.

• 2026-09-10

  Final BRICS Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting held in Mumbai ahead of the summit

  The final BRICS Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting under India's BRICS chairship was held in Mumbai on 9 and 10 September 2026, guided by the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra took part in the deliberations, which followed an earlier round of the same Finance Track meeting held in Jaipur in August 2026. The Mumbai meeting comes just days ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, which India will host in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026.

• 2026-09-07

  57th GST Council meeting postponed to 7 October over BRICS Summit clash

  The 57th meeting of the GST Council, earlier notified for 12 September 2026 in New Delhi, has been postponed to 7 October 2026 because the capital will be hosting the BRICS Leaders' Summit on 12 and 13 September, making it impracticable to hold both events together. An officers' meeting will now be held on 5 and 6 October ahead of the Council meeting, which will be chaired as usual by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with state finance ministers. The rescheduled meeting is expected to take up simplification of GST registration for large businesses and other pending compliance issues.

• 2026-08-23

  BRICS Tourism Ministers adopt the Jaipur Declaration

  The BRICS Tourism Ministers' Communique 2026, chaired by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, concluded in Jaipur on 21 August 2026 with the adoption of the Jaipur Declaration, marking the culmination of the BRICS Tourism Track under India's 2026 chairship. The declaration sets out four priorities: artificial intelligence in tourism, sustainability and responsible tourism, tourism skilling and capacity building, and seamless travel facilitation, and commits member countries to cooperate on destination management, multilingual communication and the exchange of tourism data. Tourism ministers and delegations from nine BRICS member countries took part, and India held bilateral tourism discussions on the sidelines with Brazil, Iran, South Africa and the UAE.

• 2026-08-23

  BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting adopts joint statement in Visakhapatnam

  The BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting, led by Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, concluded in Visakhapatnam on 22 August 2026 with the adoption of a Joint Statement on strengthening youth cooperation, building on the BRICS Youth Summit and Youth Council Meeting held earlier in Gandhinagar. The statement covers education, training and skills, youth entrepreneurship, science and technology, health and sports, environment and sustainability, and youth inclusion, among other areas, and was adopted under the overarching theme of India's BRICS Chairship 2026, 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. On the sidelines, delegates took part in an 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' plantation drive, and India held bilateral talks with South Africa and the UAE on youth and sports cooperation.

• 2026-08-22

  India hosts the 14th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial in Chennai

  Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh delivered the inaugural address at the 14th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Ministerial Meeting in Chennai on 21 August 2026. He said India has chosen 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability' as the theme of its BRICS Presidency in 2026, and invited BRICS partners to deepen cooperation in frontier research, innovation financing, talent mobility and research infrastructure sharing. He pointed to India's National Quantum Mission, National Supercomputing Mission, BioE3 Policy and National Geospatial Policy as examples of the country's own innovation push.

• 2026-08-21

  Digital BRICS Forum held in Pune ahead of Communications Ministers' Meeting

  Ministerial delegations from BRICS countries arrived in Pune on 20 August 2026 for the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo, held a day ahead of the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting on 21 August, closing out India's five-day BRICS ICT Track. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the delegations, while Minister of State Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani highlighted India's Digital Public Infrastructure model as an open, interoperable framework other countries could adapt. Thematic panels covered cybersecurity and child online protection, and sustainable, resilient digital ecosystems including satellite connectivity.

• 2026-08-21

  BRICS Tourism Working Group meets in Jaipur ahead of Ministers' Meeting

  The 2nd BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group meeting was held in Jaipur on 19 August 2026 under India's BRICS chairship, chaired by Tourism Secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar, focusing on four priorities: artificial intelligence in tourism, sustainability and responsible tourism, tourism skilling, and seamless travel facilitation. The outcome feeds into the BRICS Tourism Ministers' Meeting being held in Jaipur on 21 and 22 August, the first such ministerial meeting under India's 2026 chairship. Delegates also visited Jaipur's Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Amer Fort as part of the programme.

• 2026-08-18

  BRICS Civil Forum 2026 opens in New Delhi

  Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Sudhakar Dalela, addressed the opening of the BRICS Civil Forum 2026 in New Delhi, describing India's BRICS chairship as guided by a people centric, humanity first approach. He noted that more than 350 meetings have been held across Indian cities during the chairship, spanning the political security, economic financial, and people to people pillars of BRICS cooperation. Inputs from the Civil Forum are expected to feed into the BRICS Leaders' Summit later this year.

• 2026-08-17

  India hosts the BRICS ICT Track in Pune

  The Department of Telecommunications is hosting the BRICS Information and Communication Technologies Track in Pune from 17 to 21 August 2026, under India's 2026 BRICS chairship. Themed "Innovate, Cooperate and Transform for a Resilient Future," it includes the 7th BRICS ICT Working Group Meeting, the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo on 20 August, and the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting on 21 August.