Archive · 13 Sep 2026
India Seeks Partnership-Focused BRICS at Its 2026 Summit
India hosted the 2026 BRICS Summit as the group reached its 20th anniversary.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said BRICS should become more inclusive and cooperative.
India wants countries to work together on trade, technology, food, energy and transport.
It also wants BRICS to help reform global institutions.
India proposed several new cooperation efforts, including a Troika mechanism and a seafarer network.
China brings major economic influence and supports a stronger Global South platform.
Russia sees BRICS as a way to support a multipolar world and maintain its international role.
India cannot outweigh China economically, but it can try to shape the group’s ideas and institutions.
The article says lasting cooperation will depend on trust among the diverse members.
India’s 2026 BRICS presidency is presented as an effort to make the group more functional and representative.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a shift from a “Pyramid of Privilege” to a “Pyramid of Partnership.”
India proposed initiatives including a BRICS Troika mechanism, governance-reform roadmap and seafarer network.
China supports a stronger Global South platform, while Russia views BRICS as a vehicle for multipolarity and international relevance.
The summit agenda includes resilient trade, financial cooperation, connectivity, energy and food security, technology and maritime stability.
- Who
- India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China, Russia and other BRICS members.
- What
- The 2026 BRICS Summit focused on making the grouping more inclusive, effective and partnership-oriented while advancing economic and institutional cooperation.
- When
- 2026, as BRICS marks its 20th anniversary.
- Where
- India hosted the summit.
- Why
- India sought greater strategic autonomy, a stronger Global South voice and practical cooperation against disruptions to trade, connectivity and economic security.
India’s Partnership-Based Agenda
China and Russia’s Strategic Priorities
BRICS’s main direction
India’s Partnership-Based Agenda
India emphasized inclusive multilateralism, development, institutional reform, practical cooperation and broader distribution of benefits.
China and Russia’s Strategic Priorities
China favors a stronger Global South platform, while Russia emphasizes multipolarity and BRICS as a means of maintaining international relevance.
Approach to global institutions
India’s Partnership-Based Agenda
India seeks to make existing institutions more representative, responsive and capable of accommodating a more plural global system rather than simply dismantling them.
China and Russia’s Strategic Priorities
The article presents China as offering financing with fewer procedural constraints than the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, giving developing countries additional options.
Power within BRICS
India’s Partnership-Based Agenda
India aims for strategic autonomy and strategic pluralism so that BRICS cannot be dominated by any single power.
China and Russia’s Strategic Priorities
China’s greater economic weight makes it one of the grouping’s most influential actors, limiting India’s ability to prevent Chinese influence.
- Host country
- India
- Summit year
- 2026
- BRICS milestone
- 20th anniversary
- India’s guiding concept
- A shift from a “Pyramid of Privilege” to a “Pyramid of Partnership”
- Proposed initiatives
- BRICS Troika mechanism, global governance reform roadmap, seafarer network and Global South negotiation support
- Priority areas
- Trade resilience, financial architecture, connectivity, energy security, food security and maritime stability
- China’s stated emphasis
- Innovation-driven development and a more consequential Global South platform
- Russia’s stated interest
- Supporting a multipolar order and sustaining its international relevance