18th BRICS Summit Opens in New Delhi as Leaders Adopt New Delhi Declaration

The 18th BRICS Summit opened at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi under India's 2026 chairship, bringing together leaders of the 10-member bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, UAE) plus invited partner Saudi Arabia. Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi met on the sidelines amid US tariff pressure and the Iran war. Leaders unanimously adopted the 140-point New Delhi Declaration, which backs China and Russia's permanent UN Security Council seats and supports expanded UN roles for Brazil and India, pushes IMF/World Bank quota reform toward emerging economies, condemns the 2025 Pahalgam attack (26 killed) 'in the strongest terms' with 'zero tolerance' and 'no double standards' on terrorism, opposes unilateral sanctions and carbon border adjustment mechanisms, and calls for restoring WTO dispute settlement. The declaration makes no direct mention of Ukraine, reflecting the limits of consensus among members split on Russia's war.