BRICS meets in India: What’s on the agenda, why it matters

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting the annual BRICS Summit beginning today in the Indian capital, New Delhi, which has been decked out in BRICS-themed signs and illuminated buildings and roundabouts.

More than a dozen world leaders are attending the 18th annual summit of the bloc, which is increasingly viewed as a counterweight to economic alliances dominated by wealthier Western nations.

In preparation, some 30,000 additional security personnel have been deployed while streets around hotels the dignitaries are staying at have been closed off to traffic.

Leaders including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in New Delhi on Friday to hold early bilateral meetings with India’s Modi.

China’s President Xi Jinping, who is visiting India after seven years, arrives on Saturday morning.

This year’s two-day summit, which takes place on 12 and 13 September, comes at a time of global upheaval with the United States and Israel’s war on Iran, Russia’s war on Ukraine and global energy markets in chaos.

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But the bloc also faces internal challenges as differences between BRICS members over the US-Israeli war on Iran, ongoing clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, and border disputes between India and China gather pace.

So how will the bloc overcome its differences this year, and what is on the summit’s agenda?

Here’s what we know:

What is BRICS?

BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The informal trading bloc was formed in 2006, and Brazil, Russia, India and China convened for the first BRIC summit in 2009. South Africa joined a year later.

In 2023, BRICS extended invitations to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after these countries applied for membership.

An invitation was extended to Argentina at the same time, but the South American country turned it down after President Javier Milei, elected in December, campaigned on the promise that he would bolster ties with the West.

Indonesia joined the bloc in 2025.

Currently, BRICS represents 11 member countries, accounting for roughly 49 percent of the world’s population and about 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The broad aim of the alliance of governments is to challenge the economic and political monopoly of the West. The group sets priorities and holds discussions at a summit once a year, which members take turns hosting. This year’s summit is the 18th to be held.

Who is attending this year’s summit?

BRICS member countries are most represented by their top leaders, including the host – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Of the original five members, only Brazil did not send its leader – President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is tied up with local elections, and Brazil will be represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.

Most newer members will be similarly represented:

•  Iran is represented by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
• Egypt is represented by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
• Ethiopia is represented by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
• Indonesia is represented by President Prabowo Subianto.

While both the UAE and Saudi Arabia sent other members of government:

• Saudi Arabia is represented by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
• The UAE is represented by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Other world leaders attending the summit include:

• Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
• Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr
• Vietnam’s Prime Minister Le Minh Hung
• Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima
• Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye
• Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla
• Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Alupo
• Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin
• Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani
• Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the World Health Organisation’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the World Trade Organisation’s Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are among leaders of international organisations who are also attending the summit.

What’s on the agenda?

The central theme of BRICS is members’ desire to push back against the global dominance of Western-led institutions, especially when it comes to economic matters.

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This year, with India hosting the summit, the theme is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability”, according to New Delhi’s BRICS presidency documents.

Strengthening economies amid sanctions

This year’s summit will focus on strengthening members’ economies through trade, energy cooperation, and sharing knowledge about artificial intelligence (AI) and technology.

Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, the French financial services group, said leaders will also discuss modes of cross-border payments amid Western sanctions on BRICS members Russia and Iran.

“But they will not try to substitute the dollar,” she told Al Jazeera.

Russia will hold discussions with other BRICS partner countries on conducting trade settlements in digital currencies at a summit this week in New Delhi, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

“These issues, which BRICS leaders will discuss, are sort of primary issues which can secure supply chains and de-risk them amid ongoing conflicts in the world,” Manoj Kewalramani, chairperson of Bengaluru-based think tank Takshashila Institution’s Geostrategy Programme, told Al Jazeera.

US and Israel’s war on Iran

This year’s summit comes just more than six months since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began. In May, a BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting failed to jointly condemn the war on Iran.

Pezeshkian, who will be at the summit, is expected to discuss the war. It is his first visit to India as Iranian president and also marks the first visit by an Iranian president to the subcontinent in eight years.

“Iran is a BRICS member and the conflict has been directly affecting trade routes and energy access and market, which is having global economic impact,” Alejandro Reyes, adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong, said.

But, he said, the confrontation between Iran and BRICS member UAE in the context of the war will make reaching common language on the conflict difficult for member nations.

Since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began, Tehran has retaliated by targeting US military assets and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf, including in the UAE. So far, Iranian strikes have killed 15 people in the UAE, including two military personnel, one civilian contractor and 12 other civilians. The UAE also announced an indefinite trade embargo in Iran in August.

Russia’s war on Ukraine

BRICS leaders are also likely to discuss bloc member Russia’s war on Ukraine.

According to Kewalramani, however, the alliance’s leaders have been talking about Moscow’s actions in Kyiv for a few years already, and this year, he thinks they will essentially be talking about how every BRICS members’ legitimate interests around the war could be addressed jointly.

In the July 2025 joint declaration issued at the 17th summit in Rio de Janeiro, BRICS leaders avoided criticising Russia for its war on Ukraine and instead condemned Kyiv’s attacks on Russia.

“I don’t think the BRICS common language on the war this year will be problematic, given that the Americans and the Russians are talking right now,” Kewalramani added.

Earlier this month, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Putin in Moscow, in what appears to be new efforts by the Trump administration to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Their visit came after US President Donald Trump said the envoys were bringing “a proposal to end the war” – Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II – and a senior ⁠⁠Russian ⁠⁠official said it was an “important peacemaking visit”.

What’s important about this year’s summit?

Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told Al Jazeera that against the backdrop of an increasingly fraught relationship with Europe and the US, the BRICS summit will provide Russian President Putin with an opportunity to display ties to leading countries in the Global South.

“It also offers an opportunity for Russia and China to exploit the desire of many countries to hedge against uncertain trade and security policies emanating from Washington,” he said.

This summit is also significant because of its timing: just before the second China-US summit of the year. Xi Jinping is expected to meet Donald Trump for a state visit on September 24.

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Retired Senior Colonel Zhou Bo of the People’s Liberation Army told Al Jazeera that, while BRICS leaders gathering is nothing new and is part of their annual summit schedules, this year, the fact that China’s President Xi Jinping is going to India after seven years is significant.

“The relationship between Beijing and New Delhi has been frosty. So this summit is a good chance for President Xi and Prime Minister Modi to resolve differences,” he said.

Looking at the bigger picture, he said the BRICS Summit this year signals that the world order is changing amid the ongoing wars and economic challenges.

“So for BRICS in the future, there are some issues to tackle. One, which was brought up by BRICS member Brazil, is how the countries in the bloc could gradually trade in another currency and not the dollar. But that is not realistic considering there are economic disparities between BRICS countries,” he said.

“The second issue is how this organisation could play a bigger role in international geopolitics. Right now, major BRICS powers are involved in wars and finding language to comment on the wars, which is suitable for all BRICS members is going to be challenging,” he added.

Iran war

This year’s summit comes amid an ongoing rift between BRICS members Iran and UAE over the war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, India’s position on the war is also delicate, with New Delhi balancing cordial relations with both Iran and Israel, but also being careful not to upset ties with Washington.

According to Kewalramani, the alliance will aim to address the war without naming countries.

“I would be surprised if they name the US and Israel. They will likely find a state of compromise and arrive at a statement on the war around the themes of sovereignty, territorial integrity of all countries and respecting legitimate interests and concerns,” he said.

Yemen conflict

Tensions between Iran and fellow BRICS member Saudi Arabia have similarly been brewing as Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen launch drones and missiles targeting energy facilities and other infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also backs the internationally recognised government of Yemen that the Houthis are fighting, which lost control of the whole of Yemen’s Red Sea coast this week – including the strategically critical Bab al-Mandeb strait.

In July, Yemen government forces struck the international airport of Sanaa, which is held by the Houthis, to prevent aircraft they said were carrying Iranian weapons from landing.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke to his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday night about “the escalation of tensions and the growing insecurity in the region”, according to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry added that the two nations have “emphasised the need to continue cooperation and diplomatic efforts to prevent the spread of tensions and reestablish stability”.

India-China tensions

Ties between the two Asian giants have been tense since a deadly military border clash in the Himalayas in 2020.

Relations have been warming recently, but deep mistrust remains over their contested frontier and a widening trade deficit, and their strategic rivalry still complicates ties.

Retired Colonel Zhou said that China wants to position itself as the leading voice of the Global South at BRICS Summits. But he noted that some countries, including India, do not consider Beijing to be part of the Global South.

“A lot of other countries may say that China is now a global superpower,” he said. “China has, however, said that it is a natural member of the Global South. So China would place it firmly as a Global South country, as a developing country and talk about things from this perspective at the summit.”

The purpose of BRICS

Kewalramani said that while India and China will try to resolve their issues bilaterally, frictions over the purpose of BRICS will persist.

“Beijing looks at the BRICS as its premier institution to mobilise the Global South for its own interests, but also in terms of their shared grievances with regards to the West, particularly the US,” he said.

“India looks at the BRICS structurally as an entity that allows it to exercise strategic autonomy, build new partnerships, which is non-Western but not anti-Western,” he pointed out and added that this difference is not going to disappear at this summit.

“Russia and China are comfortable presenting BRICS as a counterweight to American and Western power, but India and several other members are much less interested in casting the organisation as an anti-Western alliance,” Reyes said.

Reyes said, however, the alliance is not meant to be like NATO or the EU where every member needs to agree on every geopolitical question for it to remain useful.

“The BRICS bring together countries that disagree with one another but share an interest in having greater room for manoeuvre internationally. It’s a group that bespeaks the idea of multipolarity as agency,” he said.

‘The real question is not whether the BRICS can achieve unity, which gets asked every time it meets. The better question is whether it can manage disagreement while still pursuing practical cooperation,” Reyes added.

Should the West be worried?

As part of his unilateral foreign policy vision, Trump has both undermined the Western-led international order and lashed out at Global South blocs, such as BRICS, which he sees as a threat to the US’s economic dominance. He has called the grouping “anti-American”.

Retired Colonel Zhou said that most Western leaders do not view Global South forums as anti-Western clubs. “But in the changing world order, which is reflected in multipolarity, they would watch these summits with great interest,” he added.

Reyes said Washington and the West should not be particularly concerned that BRICS is becoming a unified anti-US alliance or that its members will somehow engineer a toppling of the US dollar.

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He noted that even Russia has said recently that it is not pursuing outright “de-dollarisation”. The members have different economic and strategic interests.

“What should matter to the US is why so many important countries want the BRICS to exist and expand. They want more choices. They want greater influence over global institutions. They want alternative financing and payment channels. And more and more, they want to insulate themselves from supply-chain disruption, sanctions, tariffs or political pressure emanating from any one major power,” he said.

He added that currently, those disruptions, coercions and stress are mainly coming from the US.

“So the deeper message for Washington is that, if the US treats every attempt at strategic autonomy as hostility, it may actually strengthen the forces driving countries towards the BRICS,” he said.