BRICS Summit in New Delhi adopts 140-point declaration

The 18th BRICS Summit, hosted by India in New Delhi in September 2026, concluded with the adoption of a 140-point New Delhi Declaration. Under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, member nations focused on practical mechanisms for economic and institutional cooperation.

Key outcomes include a commitment to interoperable cross-border payments and increased use of local currencies for trade settlement, rather than a single common currency. The declaration also called for reforms to the IMF and World Bank, supported a ‘BRICS Reform Roadmap’, and advocated for UN Security Council reform. Additionally, leaders addressed AI governance, critical-mineral supply chains, and enhanced commercial mediation to boost investor confidence.

The New Development Bank (NDB) remains a central pillar of the bloc’s economic strategy. By June 2026, the NDB had approved approximately $44 billion in loans for 141 projects involving clean energy, transport, and digital infrastructure, with roughly $25 billion already disbursed. The bank’s membership has expanded beyond the founding members to include nations such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.