The Global South took center stage in New Delhi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed world leaders to Bharat Mandapam for the 18th BRICS Summit. Against the backdrop of escalating conflict in West Asia and threats to Strait of Hormuz commerce, Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, calling for a "win-win strategy" grounded in long-term peace and safe navigation. With major powers in attendance, the summit highlights emerging economies driving a new, resilient global order amid geopolitical storms.


BRICS Summit 2026: India hosts 18th BRICS summit as top world leaders arrive in Delhi

Chinese President Xi Jinping has landed in New Delhi with a high-level delegation, marking his first visit to India in seven years. His meeting with PM Modi is being watched closely as the real test of the post-Galwan thaw. China remains India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting a record $151 billion, but border peace, market access and India's widening trade deficit are all set to dominate the conversation as Beijing pushes for deeper strategic dialogue.


BRICS Summit 2026: President Xi's first trip to India in nearly seven years 

BRICS Summit 2026: China urges strategic dialogue with India

BRICS Summit 2026: Top world leaders in New Delhi as BRICS Summit begins

BRICS Summit 2026: Global South takes centre stage as Modi welcomes world leaders

As BRICS diplomacy takes center stage, all eyes are on the Modi-Xi meeting, the real test of whether India and China's post-2020 thaw can hold. China remains India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting a record $151.1 billion, but India's trade deficit has also climbed to a record $112.16 billion. Border peace, market access and reducing that imbalance top the agenda, as India pushes for a more balanced, strategic relationship beyond Galwan.


BRICS Summit 2026: Record $151 billion trade between India & China

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in India for the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. This marks Xi’s first visit to India in seven years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to welcome the Chinese President as world leaders gather for the key summit. The BRICS meeting will focus on global politics, trade, security and economic cooperation. 


BRICS Summit 2026: Chinese President Xi accompanied by high-level delegation 

BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi hosts world leaders at BRICS amid geopolitical storms

BRICS Summit 2026: India hosts 18th BRICS summit amid global uncertainties

BRICS Summit 2026: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in New Delhi

BRICS Summit 2026: Special BRICS session on 'inclusive global governance' 

BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi says India and Iran should pursue win-win strategy

BRICS Summit 2026: Modi-Xi meeting to test India-China reset after border tensions 

Day two of the 18th BRICS Summit brings the meeting everyone's watching: PM Modi and President Xi Jinping sit down today, Xi's first visit to India in seven years. It comes as both sides work to stabilize ties after the 2020 Ladakh standoff, with progress already made on border patrolling and direct flights. Alongside the bilateral, "Strengthening Multilateralism" tops the summit agenda as world leaders gather at Bharat Mandapam for the closing day.


BRICS Summit 2026: Xi Jinping's first India visit in seven years, since the Galwan clash

BRICS Summit 2026: India, China seek to rebuild ties amid changing global order

BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi hosts top leaders in New Delhi amid West Asia war 

The 18th BRICS Summit is meant to be about trade and cooperation, but the West Asia war is impossible to ignore. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, all BRICS members, are on sharply different sides of the conflict, with the UAE even suspending trade with Iran after missile attacks. India is working overtime to bridge these gaps and secure a joint Delhi Declaration, but experts say this could be the toughest test yet of whether BRICS can actually stay united.


BRICS Summit 2026: West Asia war casts shadow on BRICS Summit

Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum 2026 in New Delhi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar highlighted the severe political and economic uncertainty facing the world, describing the global order as being "under churn" due to geopolitical conflicts and disruptions. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin took direct aim at the G7, declaring that BRICS has become the new engine of global growth by accounting for over 40% of world GDP and driving more than half of recent economic expansion. Both leaders urged BRICS nations to deepen market integration and build shock-resistant supply networks.


BRICS Summit 2026: Putin claims BRICS now drives over 50% of global economic growth

BRICS is growing, but for India, the numbers tell a more complicated story. India's trade deficit with the bloc has tripled in five years, from $74.5 billion to $226.1 billion, the largest deficit of any BRICS member. Imports surged 132% while exports grew just 49%, with China alone supplying over $131 billion in goods. So as BRICS pushes deeper integration, the real question is whether India can actually balance the scales, or just keep importing more.


BRICS Summit 2026: India faces $226 billion deficit problem 

Donald Trump isn't in Delhi for the BRICS Summit, but his tariff threats are impossible to ignore. From trade pressure to wars in Ukraine and the Gulf, BRICS members are navigating a world where economics and geopolitics keep colliding. Local currency trade has quietly crossed 67% among member nations, even as India stays cautious, rejecting a common BRICS currency while still backing local-currency settlements as tools for resilience, not an anti-dollar crusade.


BRICS Summit 2026: Local currencies gain focus in BRICS

BRICS Summit 2026: India, Russia push to expand trade, defence and strategic partnership 

Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in New Delhi and went straight into bilateral talks with PM Modi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. Trade, energy, and defence topped the agenda, with BrahMos missile upgrades, S-400 deliveries and Su-57 jets all reportedly on the table. Putin arrived with a high-level delegation, and the two leaders are expected to review decades of strategic partnership before world leaders gather at Bharat Mandapam this weekend.


BRICS Summit 2026: India, Russia push to expand trade, defence and strategic partnership

BRICS was built as an economic bloc, but security is quietly becoming its next big test. From terrorism to cyber warfare, India is pushing the group toward real cooperation, without turning it into a military alliance like NATO. The challenge is real: Russia, China and Iran prioritize sovereignty and anti-intervention, while other members balance different global relationships. Can eleven very different powers actually agree on shared threats, or will BRICS stay economically united but strategically divided?


BRICS Summit 2026: BRICS not a military alliance, can it build security cooperation?

BRICS Summit 2026: PM Modi gifts a Russian translation of the 'Thirukkural' to Putin

BRICS Summit 2026: Russian President Putin's first BRICS trip abroad since the Ukraine war began

BRICS is facing its toughest test yet. Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, all part of the bloc but on opposing sides of the West Asia war, have sent delegations to New Delhi even as Houthi rebels make rapid advances along Yemen's Red Sea coast. The UAE has already suspended all trade with Iran after being hit by Iranian missiles. India is now working overtime to bridge the gap and land a joint Delhi Declaration everyone can actually sign.

BRICS Summit 2026: Rivals in West Asia, partners in BRICS, UAE, Iran, and Saudi delegations in Delhi

India kicks off the 18th BRICS Summit today at Bharat Mandapam, bringing together leaders from all 11 member nations at a genuinely tense moment. Putin, Xi Jinping, El-Sisi, and Iran's Pezeshkian, on his first India visit in 8 years, are all in Delhi, with wars in West Asia and Ukraine looming large over the agenda. Trade, energy security, and global governance are on the table, but experts say the real test is whether BRICS can hold together at all.


BRICS Summit 2026: Top world leaders in New Delhi; West Asia war casts shadow on BRICS Summit

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Leaders' Summit, where global trade, investment, energy security and economic cooperation are expected to dominate discussions. Ramaphosa is also set to participate in the BRICS Business Forum and will join the India-South Africa Business Leadership Roundtable.


BRICS Summit 2026: South Africa says it will use the summit to advance its economic priorities

As host of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India is navigating a major geopolitical test due to a bitter deadlock between member states Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Following the rapid escalation of the US-Iran war and strikes in the Gulf, Tehran is pushing for explicit BRICS condemnation of US-Israeli military operations. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi demands accountability for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and Gulf infrastructure. After previous ministerial meetings failed to yield a unified communique, Indian diplomats are holding marathon negotiations at Bharat Mandapam to forge a consensus text for the final New Delhi Declaration.


BRICS summit: India faces delicate Iran-UAE diplomatic test

As India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, over 30 countries—including NATO member Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, and Vietnam—are actively seeking full membership or formal partner status within the expanding 11-member bloc. India faces a delicate diplomatic balancing act: managing internal consensus among existing members while resisting aggressive pushback from China and Russia to rapidly anti-Westernize the group, ensuring BRICS remains an effective multilateral driver for the Global South rather than a diluted geopolitical bloc.  


BRICS Summit 2026: 30+ countries seek BRICS membership

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's Delhi visit is a big deal, it's the first time an Iranian head of state has come to India in over 8 years, since Hassan Rouhani in 2018. With West Asia's war testing BRICS unity, Modi and Pezeshkian's bilateral talks are set to cover Chabahar Port, energy cooperation and regional connectivity, all while India tries to keep dialogue open between Iran, the US and its Gulf neighbours.


BRICS Summit 2026: Iran's Pezeshkian praises PM Modi at BRICS

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