> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theoceaniacables.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 18th BRICS Summit: Leaders Focus on Security and Trade Goals - URL: https://www.theoceaniacables.com/18th-brics-summit-leaders-focus-on-security-and-trade-goals/ - Published: 2026-09-14T03:54:53.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-14T07:11:05.000Z - Description: In the room: New Delhi Declaration; Putin criticises sanctions & NATO expansion; Iran-UAE talks; Xi proposes innovation plans; no BRICS currency - Author: The Oceania Cables - Tags: BRICS, India, Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Russia, China, Iran, Asia, Middle East ### **Summary:** The 18th BRICS Summit held in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2026, under India’s chairmanship, brought together leaders from the expanded membership to discuss inclusive global governance, economic cooperation, and regional stability. The New Delhi Declaration condemned attacks on nuclear and civilian infrastructure, opposed unilateral tariffs and carbon border taxes, and reaffirmed support for reforms in the United Nations and international financial institutions. Members emphasized expanding local-currency trade while declining to adopt a common BRICS currency. President Vladimir Putin used his address at the BRICS Business Forum and a subsequent press interaction to criticize Western sanctions and Europe’s energy policies, offering his perspective on NATO expansion and the origins of the Ukraine conflict. President Xi Jinping, visiting India for the first time in seven years, proposed a series of initiatives focused on innovation, digital cooperation, and economic partnerships within BRICS. On the sidelines, India secured trade targets with Russia and Egypt, while Iran and the United Arab Emirates engaged in high-level talks—their first since the Gulf conflict began—signaling a diplomatic thaw. The summit concluded with Prime Minister Modi handing over the BRICS chairmanship to China and urging focused, time-bound implementation of the group’s agenda. The weekend culminated in a jointly signed declaration, reaffirmed trade ambitions, and diplomatic engagements that reflect BRICS’ evolving role in global affairs. ### **Detailed Report** ### **1\. New Delhi Convenes Expanded BRICS to Address Global Challenges** The 18th BRICS Summit convened at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with leaders from all eleven member states in attendance. The official agenda centered on inclusive global governance, but discussions quickly turned to concrete issues: unilateral tariffs, carbon border taxes, and the extent to which member states could settle trade using their own currencies rather than relying on the United States dollar. Trade among members, on President Putin’s figures, is already $1.2 trillion. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the Business Forum the day before the leaders sat that the political and economic order was “under churn” and that the grouping should absorb shocks “while remaining connected and competitive.” They signed the New Delhi Declaration on 12 September. The text condemned the April 2025 attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, and, in the West Asia paragraphs, condemned strikes on nuclear facilities and civilian infrastructure without naming an attacker. It called for maximum restraint and diplomacy. It opposed unilateral tariffs and carbon border taxes and restated support for United Nations and international financial reform. ### **2\. President Putin’s Remarks on BRICS Trade and Western Challenges** ### **2A. On Economic Shifts and Sanctions** President Putin told the BRICS Business Forum on 11 September 2026 that the old engines of the world economy were being replaced and that the restrictions used to hold the new ones back had become state practice. Putin highlighted BRICS’ growing global influence, noting that over the past five years, the bloc’s economies contributed over 40% of global output, compared to 29% from the Group of Seven (G7). More than half of global growth in that period had come from BRICS; the G7’s share was 18%. Population and domestic markets, he said, explained the gap. He said Western governments still treated competition as “a sacred sign” while using the state against it — pipelines destroyed, corridors blocked, ships seized, and secondary sanctions on anyone who would not follow “someone else’s interest.” “More than 30,000 sanctions have been slapped on Russia, which is twice as much as the number of all sanctions against all the other countries of the world combined.” Russia, he said, had restructured its trade geography over the past four years. It had grown faster than the global average, with GDP growth of 10.3% across 2023 and 2024, while cutting unemployment to 2.3%. The states that had imposed the sanctions, on his figures, were living with industrial decline, budget deficits and rising public debt. In the leading economies of the euro zone, industrial output was down 8%. He told the room: “We’re not against anyone and what we are doing is not against anyone either.” Russia would work with old partners and new ones. He pointed to Arctic and North–South transport corridors, food and energy security, and a national committee of more than 40 large Russian companies tasked with finding counterparts. The missing piece, he said, was funding. On the New Development Bank he proposed an investment platform that would pull in private capital. BRICS growth, he said, was “not being imposed on us by the so-called golden billion. Nor are we trying to impose anything on anyone else.” ### **2B. On NATO Expansion, Ukraine’s War, and Energy Realities** The same evening, closing his first day in New Delhi, President Putin took a question on German state elections. He declined to discuss the Alternative for Germany’s win in Saxony. He then set out his account of Europe. “In my view, all that is now happening across Europe as a whole is the consequence of systemic errors committed by the so-called West, or, to be more precise, by the globalist circles of the West, in the political, security and economic spheres.” “Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, they perceived themselves as standing atop the summit of Mount Olympus, and evidently concluded that, firstly, they were permitted everything and, secondly, that they themselves were incapable of error. From then on, these mistakes began to accumulate and snowball.” On security he listed pressure on Russia through the use of terrorists in the Caucasus, then other methods, and now Ukraine. “We have repeatedly stated that NATO’s expansion eastward is unacceptable to us. Ultimately, they reached Ukraine. President Yanukovych was removed from office through a coup d’état. As soon as the regime was changed through, I repeat, a bloody coup d’état, the objective of pulling Ukraine into NATO was immediately set in motion, and this, in fact, became the root cause of today’s tragic events in Ukraine.” “They, the Western globalist elites, bear responsibility for this, although they persistently seek to shift the blame onto us.” He said European governments were selling their publics a threat that did not exist. “They now seek to frighten their populations with a mythical Russian threat, purportedly dating back to the Soviet era. But such a threat does not exist, and never has. We do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries — for what reason would we? No one appears to consider that we have no grounds for any conflict with Europe. All issues were resolved by the outcome of the Second World War.” “Nonetheless, they persist in this course, demanding certain changes. But what changes do they seek? Are they attempting to revise the results of the Second World War? To what end are they steering their peoples? Toward war with the Russian Federation? Now, they speak of contemplating the dispatch of troops to the territory of Ukraine. This would mean war with Russia.” On energy he said Russia had supplied gas to Europe at $150–180 per 1,000 cubic metres. Europeans had called that too expensive and demanded prices set on the exchange. “We warned them that gas is not a market commodity, or at least not a classic market commodity; this approach will yield nothing and your prices will only increase. And so, it has turned out: prices are now at 1,000 dollars or euros per 1,000 cubic metres. And they may well rise even further.” Exchange traders, not producers, set the price, he said. Germany was trying only to fill storage to 70%; the Netherlands was “even worse.” Traders preferred to draw cheaper gas from storage now. “This will result in prices rising not just to 1,000, but to 1,500\. Thus, yet another mistake has been made, this time in the economic sphere.” ### **3\. President Xi’s Visit to India: BRICS Collaboration and Global Governance** On his first visit to India since 2019, President Xi Jinping called on BRICS to pioneer innovation-driven development, peace and stability, civilisational exchange, and the reform of global governance. He landed on the afternoon of 12 September, sat the members’ session, met Prime Minister Modi, spoke again on 13 September and left the same day. He did not attend the host dinner. Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China sat it in his place and told travelling reporters that the most important consensus with India was that the two countries should be partners. Prime Minister Modi thanked China for its help during India’s year in the chair. The Chinese readout of the meeting said: “China and India are partners rather than rivals, and development opportunities rather than threats to each other.” On 13 September, President Xi introduced five initiatives aimed at driving BRICS innovation and economic integration. These included the creation of an open-source artificial-intelligence community, work on large language models, a special-economic-zone partnership, and a services-trade forum in China next year. ### **4\. Iran and UAE Leaders Unite for Dialogue and Regional Stability** President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, met on 12 September, the highest-level Iran–United Arab Emirates contact since the war began. Both had just signed the declaration that condemned strikes on nuclear sites and civilian infrastructure without naming an attacker. The Abu Dhabi Media Office said they discussed de-escalation, regional stability and opportunities for peace and development. The next day President Pezeshkian said they had had “a good conversation” and had “agreed to put the past behind us and look to the future.” Stéphane Dujarric, speaking for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, called the meeting “very important” and said India could serve as a bridge. On the floor President Pezeshkian asked BRICS to turn talk of resilience into work against unilateral sanctions, and said the grouping must be “a voice for justice.” An Iran–Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on transit through the Strait of Hormuz was listed for 14 September. Prime Minister Modi met President Pezeshkian on 11 September, their second encounter in two weeks and the first visit to India by an Iranian president since 2018\. They discussed Hormuz, seafarers, trade and Chabahar. At the Business Forum President Pezeshkian proposed a $10 billion joint reinsurance fund. It was not agreed as a BRICS instrument. ### **5\. Trade, Timelines, and Partnerships: Key Sideline Agreements** Prime Minister Modi used the two days around the summit to lock in trade figures with Russia and Egypt and to book later meetings in Moscow and with the African Union. On 11 September he and President Putin reaffirmed a $100 billion India–Russia trade target by 2030, against a present level of about $60–65 billion, and pointed to the Programme for Economic Cooperation 2030\. Defence, energy, civil nuclear projects, critical minerals and railways were on the list. India again asked for more access to the Russian market against a bilateral deficit near $50 billion. President Putin invited Prime Minister Modi to the 24th annual India–Russia summit, expected late this year. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt told Prime Minister Modi he wanted India–Egypt trade at $12 billion and more Indian investment in manufacturing, technology, clean energy, automotive plants and the Suez Canal Economic Zone. He had already met Indian chief executives on the same visit. President Putin called Egypt a long-standing reliable friend and invited President el-Sisi to the Russia–Africa summit in Moscow in October. President Putin told Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia that Ethiopia–Russia trade had more than tripled in 2025 and was still rising, and that more than 20,000 Ethiopians had been educated in Russia. Prime Minister Abiy’s account added defence, education, technology and joint work toward the 2032 climate conference. Prime Minister Modi and President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, chair of the African Union, discussed early convening of the fourth India–Africa Forum Summit. ### 6\. BRICS Nations Push for Local-Currency Trade but Reject Single Currency BRICS members restated an interest in settling a greater share of trade in their own currencies. They did not agree to create a common BRICS currency. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar told the Business Forum that members should build a predictable business environment, resilient supply chains and linked payment systems for local-currency trade. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said on 13 September that central banks were already talking and that he expected an agreement. “It’s crucial because it’s important to enhance trade, rather than be against another payment system or another currency.” He told Prime Minister Modi he had tested the route in Delhi: he paid in rupees and saw the transaction clear into rand “without any hiccup.” Asked whether any BRICS government was reluctant to link systems, he said, “No, we are all aligned.” The declaration stays inside that limit. Members will look at settling more trade in their own currencies. They will not bind themselves to a single payment system. The New Development Bank already finances some of its projects in local currencies. President Pezeshkian’s call to reduce reliance on the United States dollar remains an Iranian position. ### **7\. India’s BRICS Chair Ends with Focus on Results and Continuity** In his closing remarks, Prime Minister Modi summarized India’s year-long leadership of BRICS and emphasized the need for actionable results. He said pandemics, climate disasters and broken supply chains had shown that no crisis stays in one region, and that developing countries now looked to BRICS because their voices were heard and the work was built with them, not for them. “We may be rooted in different realities, but together we rise through cooperation, and blossom for humanity.” India’s year, he said, had produced an infectious-disease early-warning system, disaster-data guidelines and a logistics framework, an incubator network and a startup fund, a digital-agriculture network, and centres on smart grids and agro-ecology. He warned that the weaponization of technology and critical minerals could hinder shared progress, and said the grouping had therefore stressed inclusivity when new technology is taken up. He called BRICS “an ecosystem of solutions” and said the outcomes now had to become time-bound actions with last-mile effect. He had proposed a Continuity and Implementation Mechanism through the incoming troika, with a record of who owns each decision and when it is due. “The world now expects concrete results from us, not just ideas and commitments.” He wished China well as the next host. ### **Conclusion** The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi reinforced the grouping’s role as a platform for advancing economic cooperation, diplomatic dialogue, and strategic partnerships amid shifting global dynamics. While the summit produced a joint declaration and set clear trade ambitions, it stopped short of addressing some contentious issues directly. Leadership now passes to China, with expectations for focused, results-oriented progress in the year ahead.