India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s priorities in BRICS during his address as he welcomed the delegates at the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. As BRICS wants to give more weightage to the Global South, the Prime Minister highlighted BRICS as a platform for dialogue and cooperation rather than a group working against the West.
India is hosting the two-day BRICS Summit from September 12-13, 2026 under its BRICS chairmanship. It is the fourth occasion that India will host the BRICS Chairmanship. The theme of India’s BRICS Chairmanship is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
In his welcome speech, PM Modi emphasized India’s people-first policy and stated that resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability were the key themes of India’s BRICS chairmanship.
“It gives me immense pleasure to welcome and greet all of you to India. India’s BRICS Chairmanship is rooted in the people-centric and humanity-first approach. Resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability have been our priorities. With these priorities, we have taken special efforts to connect our BRICS Chairmanship with the common people,” PM Modi said in his welcome address at BRICS summit.
BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi Says ‘We Are Not Against Anyone’
Another key point made by Modi in his speech was the fact that BRICS was not meant to be an organization that would oppose Western nations. “We are not against anyone, but we try to take everyone along,” he stated.
This clearly shows that India tries to present BRICS as a broader forum of cooperation of emerging countries, rather than a bloc designed to challenge some specific country. All this comes amidst significant geopolitical developments, such as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as growing rivalry between superpowers.
Now, the membership of the organization has increased to eleven countries, which gives BRICS a much larger economic and geopolitical presence. Discussions at the summit include topics like trade, investments, finance, energy, technology and development.
BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi Pushes Global South Agenda
The leader also emphasized the need for BRICS to pay due regard to the needs of developing nations. This is because according to him, the present model of global governance fails to account for the new realities of the world economy.
The Prime Minister referred to the present global governance architecture as the “pyramid of privilege” and stated that decision-making powers continue to lie with a select few nations. He further called for transformation of the same into a more inclusive model of partnership.
Modi also demanded a timeframe-based roadmap for reforms in global governance with the ultimate goal of ensuring a larger say for the nations from the Global South in international organizations.
BRICS Summit 2026: Why UNSC Reform Is A Key Issue For India
There is no denying that the need for reforming the global organizations has everything to do with India’s consistent call for reforms at the United Nations Security Council. The fact of the matter is that there have been calls from India regarding the necessity to make sure that the composition of the UNSC takes into account the geopolitics and economics of today.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UN Secretary General António Guterres had also talked about this topic earlier in the day on Friday before BRICS meet took place. It is said that the discussion was focused on the importance of multipolarity and reform of the multilateral organizations, including the UN Security Council, in order to reflect contemporary realities.
The above-mentioned discussion makes the statement of India’s Prime Minister during the BRICS summit even more important. India has also started its campaign for getting a non-permanent membership of the UNSC for 2028-2029.
BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi Proposes New Continuity Mechanism
Modi also suggested a new approach to ensure that BRICS initiatives will be implemented even in cases when the presidency of the group changes each year. Under this approach, there will be a Troika mechanism consisting of BRICS presidencies from previous, current and upcoming years. This mechanism is supposed to provide more continuity in discussions, policy-making and follow-ups on those decisions.
Another initiative proposed by Modi concerns the establishment of a secure online database to record decisions, obligations and deadlines. This approach will enable BRICS nations to trace whether the decisions made in a particular year have been implemented in subsequent years.
This initiative was suggested against the backdrop of the 20-year experience of BRICS. According to Modi, the process of BRICS should not be slowed down when the leadership of the group is changing from one nation to another.
BRICS Summit 2026: From Consensus To Concrete Results
Modi also thanked BRICS nations and their partners for their support during India’s chairship of the bloc in 2026. “Now the grouping has formed its own identity in the international space, and it needs to translate that common understanding into tangible achievements.”
The stress on implementation is also consistent with the message Modi delivered at the BRICS Business Forum on Friday when he asked the grouping to act upon its aspirations and take advantage of its strength in order to find solutions to global problems.
The recent developments indicate that India is trying to leverage its chairmanship of BRICS for the purpose of merging interests of the Global South, institutional reforms and economic cooperation. At the same time, India hopes to ensure that BRICS remains an open platform for dialogue without being reduced to differences with the West.
With the summit taking place amid conflicts, trade tensions and changes in the global balance of power, India’s message is centred on a more representative international system, stronger cooperation among developing economies and greater continuity in BRICS decision-making.
