Current affairs, 12 September 2026: the 18th BRICS Summit adopts the New Delhi Declaration under India's chairship

12 September 2026 is the opening day of the XVIII BRICS Summit in New Delhi — India’s fourth chairship — and the day leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration.

18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi Declaration adopted

Leaders of BRICS countries met in New Delhi from 12 to 13 September 2026 for the XVIII BRICS Summit, held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” On the first day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that all members had unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration — a consensus document covering multilateralism, UN reform, trade, climate, technology, terrorism and development. The declaration commends India’s chairship progress, including the inaugural BRICS SME Forum and a Framework for Cooperation in the SME Working Group, and welcomes India’s 2026 Kimberley Process chairship. India assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on 1 January 2026, having previously chaired in 2012, 2016 and 2021; the 17th Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro (July 2025) under Brazil. New Delhi Declaration (official text) · India Today · PIB

Summit context

Sessions on 12 September included “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Development” and “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism”, chaired by PM Modi. The summit also hosted an Outreach/BRICS Plus Dialogue segment, bringing partner countries into the deliberations.

Why it matters for an exam: remember 18th Summit = New Delhi, Sep 2026, India’s 4th chairship, theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, output New Delhi Declaration.

What to write in your notebook

Three lines:

1. 18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi, 12–13 Sep 2026; India’s 4th chairship; theme Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, Sustainability.
2. New Delhi Declaration: adopted unanimously on Day 1 (12 Sep); covers multilateralism, UN reform, trade, climate, tech, terrorism.
3. Previous chairships: India chaired 2012, 2016, 2021; 17th Summit = Rio 2025 (Brazil); next host China (2027).