As New Delhi prepared to host the BRICS Summit of 11 emerging economies, negotiators were working late into the evening on Friday (September 11, 2026) to forge a consensus for the “Delhi Declaration”.
Their tensions have held up a joint statement at all BRICS ministerial meetings this year, and at the crucial meeting of Foreign Ministers in mid-May, External Affairs Minister S. However, Iran has contested this in Sherpa meetings, insisting that it would be akin to Iran criticising itself. Both Iran and the UAE are members of the BRICS grouping and were inducted in 2024.
Diplomatic sources and officials said that all member countries had agreed to “almost all the text, with the exception of one paragraph”, indicating that the references to the war in Iran started by the U.S. and Israel, and Iran’s attacks on installations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other West Asian countries, had still not been resolved. Jaishankar issued a “Chair’s Summary” instead. “We continue to engage on [the] Outcome Document”, an official privy to the negotiations told The Hindu on Friday, while others said they remained hopeful of a breakthrough, as India was able to do in 2023 by forging a joint statement at the G-20 Summit after the Russian war in Ukraine had divided members. In the current series of negotiations, Iran has been pitching for a clear condemnation of the U.S. and Israel’s actions, and the UAE wants “equal condemnation” of Iran’s actions, a diplomat told The Hindu . Tehran has contended that its attacks on the Gulf region were in “self-defence”, limited to U.S. military and ancillary installations, the sources said.
The government’s outreach to President Pezeshkian was apparent from the moment he landed, with a red-carpet welcome accorded to him. Mr. Modi was seen personally leading Mr. Pezeshkian at the BRICS Business event, while holding his hand firmly. Pezeshkian will be the only BRICS leader to meet President Draupadi Murmu as well. Mr.
This is the fourth time that India is hosting the BRICS Summit, after 2012 in Delhi, 2016 in Goa and 2021 virtually.
“In the backdrop of geopolitical tensions and geoeconomic uncertainties, the participation of all these leaders in the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi is a reiteration of their collective confidence and commitment to BRICS,” said former Secretary for Multilateral and Economic Relations Dammu Ravi, who ran many of the negotiations for BRICS and other groupings in the Ministry of External Affairs. “It’s an excellent opportunity for India to put focus on finding solutions to the challenges of an aspiring global south, in a trilateral framework by combining each other’s strengths,” he added. Modi and other BRICS leaders will attend an exhibition showcasing Indian innovation and will take part in a “joint tree plantation” ceremony, the Ministry said.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have stressed the importance of a joint statement from the BRICS coalition in each of his bilateral talks, including with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, as a strong ally of the Iranian government, has considerable sway with Tehran. On Saturday, according to an advisory by the External Affairs Ministry, Mr.
