Archive · 11 Sep 2026
Why India’s BRICS Summit Lacks G20-Style Political Fanfare
India made its 2023 G20 meeting look like a major national celebration.
It used banners, speeches, cultural symbols, and public events to show that India was becoming more important in the world.
The country plans to host a BRICS meeting in 2026, but it has not created the same excitement.
The article says this may be because world politics are now more divided and difficult.
BRICS also includes more countries with different interests than before.
The Quad focuses mainly on security, so it is less suitable for a large public celebration.
India also decided not to host the 2028 United Nations climate meeting.
Hosting that meeting could have brought pressure to make stronger promises about emissions, energy, and climate finance.
The author says India may still want influence on climate issues while avoiding the extra scrutiny that comes with hosting the meeting.
India’s 2023 G20 presidency featured extensive branding, public outreach, and leader-focused political messaging.
The planned 2026 BRICS summit has not received comparable public mobilisation or symbolic promotion.
The article attributes the contrast to changing geopolitics, BRICS’ greater internal diversity, and diminishing returns from repeated spectacle.
The Quad is less suited to mass public messaging because it is a narrower, security-focused grouping.
India withdrew from hosting the 2028 UN climate summit, possibly to limit scrutiny over climate commitments and coal dependence.
- Who
- The Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the G20, BRICS, the Quad, and United Nations climate institutions.
- What
- India is preparing to host the 2026 BRICS summit without repeating the public spectacle of its 2023 G20 presidency, and has stepped back from hosting COP33 in 2028.
- When
- The G20 summit took place in September 2023; the BRICS summit is planned for 2026; COP33 would take place in 2028.
- Where
- The events and proposed events concern India, including New Delhi’s 2023 G20 summit.
- Why
- The article links the quieter approach to changed geopolitics, narrower forums, diminishing returns from spectacle, and concerns about scrutiny of climate commitments.
- G20 summit
- Held in New Delhi in September 2023 under India’s chairmanship.
- 2026 BRICS summit
- India is preparing to host it, but public mobilisation has so far been limited.
- G20 public messaging
- The presidency used banners, cultural imagery, the lotus symbol, leader-focused branding, and the Jan Bhagidari outreach campaign.
- Geopolitical context
- The continuing war in Ukraine, the war in West Asia, and rivalries among major powers have made bridge-building more difficult.
- Quad
- The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is described as a narrower, security-oriented grouping less suited to mass mobilisation.
- COP33
- India stepped back from hosting the 2028 United Nations climate conference after reviewing its commitments.
- Climate scrutiny
- Hosting COP33 could have increased pressure over mitigation, energy transition, climate finance, and India’s reliance on coal.