BRICS summit opens in New Delhi with focus on global governance reform

Under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability," the 18th BRICS summit opened today in New Delhi, bringing together leaders of member states and officials from invited countries as part of India’s presidency of the group for 2026.

The two-day summit will address ways to strengthen cooperation among BRICS countries in economic, financial, political, and developmental fields, as well as innovation and sustainability. Leaders will also exchange views on a range of regional and international issues of common interest.

In his opening remarks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the importance of reforming global governance systems and increasing the representation of the Global South in decision-making. He stressed that reform of the United Nations Security Council can no longer be delayed, calling for negotiations to be tied to a clear timeline and tangible outcomes. Modi also noted that voting rights, leadership positions, and policy priorities in financial institutions should reflect the current economic reality, and that countries driving global economic growth should have an appropriate role in shaping economic governance.

He proposed developing ten recommendations for global governance reform, to be shaped into a roadmap by the next summit, focusing on three main pillars: representation, responsiveness, and rule-making.

Modi emphasized the need for equal participation in shaping global rules that will define the future, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyberspace, outer space, biotechnology, and critical technologies. He called for the Global South to move from being rule-takers to active rule-makers, strengthening their presence and influence in shaping the future world order. He affirmed that the right to shape the shared future should also be shared.

Following the opening session, a closed meeting of BRICS leaders was held to continue discussions on the summit agenda.