Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and leaders from the other Brics member states.
The summit comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and continued rivalry between the US and China presenting challenges for a grouping whose members have sometimes sharply differing foreign policy priorities.
Security has been stepped up across the Indian capital, with thousands of police and paramilitary personnel deployed around the summit venue and elsewhere in New Delhi. Traffic restrictions and diversions have also been imposed.
Brics was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining four years later. It has since grown to 11 members, accounting for about half of the world's population and a significant share of global economic output.
The grouping has increasingly sought to position itself as a platform for emerging and developing economies, while pressing for reforms to international institutions to give countries outside the West greater representation. Leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Brazilian Minister Mauro Vieira, and the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, pose for a photograph during a photo session organised for participants at the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, India, on 11 September 2026.
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Reducing reliance on Western financial systems
Economic cooperation is expected to dominate much of the agenda, with leaders due to discuss energy, food security, technology, supply chains, investment and reform of global institutions.
Another priority is reducing dependence on the US dollar in trade and payments. Several Brics countries have backed greater use of national currencies and the development of financial mechanisms that provide alternatives to Western-dominated institutions.
Russia and China in particular see Brics as a means of reducing Western influence in the international system while expanding cooperation between emerging economies.
Speaking at the Brics Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday, Putin insisted the grouping was not directed against any other countries and said Russia remained open to international cooperation.
“We are in favour of our interests,” he said.
Iran, which faces sweeping Western sanctions and other US economic pressure, has similarly pushed for mechanisms that would make Brics countries less reliant on Western financial systems.
Pezeshkian said expanding the use of members' national currencies should be a central objective.
“One of the most important steps is to expand the use of national currencies in trade among the members,” he told reporters on Friday.
China is meanwhile seeking to use the grouping to deepen its influence among developing economies and bolster Brics as a counterweight to US power.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Xi was expected to discuss major international issues as well as ways of strengthening cooperation between member states.
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India seeks balance amid global tensions
For host India, the summit also highlights New Delhi's delicate diplomatic balancing act.
India has maintained longstanding relationships with Russia and Iran while at the same time expanding economic, defence and technology cooperation with the US and European countries.
Despite the war in Ukraine and tensions surrounding Iran, New Delhi has continued its engagement with both Moscow and Tehran while repeatedly calling for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve international conflicts.
Modi met Putin and Pezeshkian separately in New Delhi on Friday ahead of the summit.
India will also be looking to build on a recent easing of tensions with China. Modi and Xi are expected to hold talks later on Saturday, potentially strengthening a diplomatic thaw after relations deteriorated following deadly clashes along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.
One of the biggest challenges facing the Indian presidency will be securing agreement on a joint declaration.
Divisions within the bloc were apparent in May, when Brics foreign ministers were unable to reach agreement on a joint statement over the war involving Iran, leaving India to issue a chair's summary instead.
Those differences could again prove difficult to bridge in New Delhi.
The summit is taking place against renewed concern that the conflict involving Iran, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on 28 February, could widen further amid escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels.
(with newswires)
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