India forged a consensus of BRICS countries on Saturday (September 12, 2026), after Iran and the United Arab Emirates agreed to a last-minute compromise on the language used about the war in West Asia, allowing the 11-member grouping to adopt the New Delhi Declaration at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi after the session, announced that China would take over the presidency of BRICS for the next year. It made no separate mention of the Russian war in Ukraine. The meeting was attended by the leaders of eight member countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the leaders of Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa. Brazil and the UAE sent high-level representatives. Addressing the leaders, Mr. “We respect each other’s perspectives and move forward through consensus. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who held an hour-long bilateral meeting with Mr. Modi and the leaders of Iran, Russia, and the UAE. In a rare diplomatic breakthrough, Iran’s President, Mr. Pezeshkian met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the summit at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam official venue. He was addressing a media briefing after the closed BRICS session on the future of global governance and strengthening multilateralism.
The statement — that did not directly mention the attacks against Iran by the United States and Israel nor Iran’s subsequent strikes on its Persian Gulf neighbours, including the UAE — called for “maximum restraint” in the war. Modi said that 20 years after the grouping of emerging economies was originally formed, BRICS was “coming of age” with a “distinct identity” not aimed against others on the global stage. We strive to move ahead with an approach that is not against anyone but instead seeks to take everyone along,” the Prime Minister said, in a possible reference to the criticism of BRICS in the U.S. as an “anti-western” grouping. The grouping had become the “world’s most influential platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries,” he said. The paragraphs on the war in Iran took delicate diplomacy by Indian negotiators at “various levels”, said officials, and was forged after overnight negotiations and talks between Mr. The consensus was achieved through months of “threadbare” discussions, according to Sudhakar Dalela, Indian Sherpa at the talks and Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Side-stepping a question from The Hindu on whether India had asked for support from other leaders in BRICS to help convince Iran and UAE to agree to the draft language, he said that the cooperation and collaboration of all members was “key”.
