Archive · 12 Sep 2026
BRICS Reaches New Delhi Consensus Despite Iran-UAE Divisions
BRICS is a group of 11 countries that try to cooperate on important world issues.
The countries do not always agree, especially about fighting and tensions in West Asia.
India hosted a BRICS meeting in New Delhi and helped the members agree on one document.
Diplomats worked through the night to find words that everyone could accept.
The document asks countries to show maximum restraint and solve disagreements through talks.
It does not blame one specific country.
Instead, it supports national sovereignty and the United Nations Charter.
The agreement shows that BRICS can still work together even when its members have serious differences.
All 11 BRICS members adopted the New Delhi Declaration at the India-hosted summit.
The declaration calls for maximum restraint, dialogue and diplomacy amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Negotiators avoided naming individual countries and emphasized sovereignty, the UN Charter and opposition to unilateral aggression.
India reportedly brokered consensus after overnight negotiations addressing divisions involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The agreement restores a unified BRICS statement after failed meetings in April and May and reaffirms reform and cooperation priorities.
- Who
- The 11 BRICS member countries, with Indian negotiators leading efforts to bridge differences.
- What
- They adopted the New Delhi Declaration, a joint statement on Middle East tensions, diplomacy, multilateral reform and cooperation.
- When
- At the 18th BRICS Summit in 2026; negotiations reportedly continued from Friday evening until nearly 4 a.m. Saturday.
- Where
- New Delhi, India, at the Bharat Mandapam summit venue.
- Why
- To restore a unified BRICS position and overcome divisions, particularly between Iran and the UAE and among Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.
Principle-Based Consensus
Country-Specific Positions
How to address the West Asia conflict
Principle-Based Consensus
India's reported approach was to avoid naming any country and instead use shared principles including sovereignty, the UN Charter, maximum restraint and diplomacy.
Country-Specific Positions
Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE held sharply different positions amid the regional conflict, making country-specific language difficult for all members to accept.
What the agreement demonstrates
Principle-Based Consensus
Supporters can view the declaration as evidence that an expanded BRICS can still act collectively and articulate Global South priorities.
Country-Specific Positions
The failed April and May meetings and the members' conflicting positions underscore the fragility and limits of consensus within the bloc.
- BRICS membership
- The expanded grouping has 11 members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- Declaration language
- The document calls for maximum restraint, dialogue, consultation and diplomacy, while emphasizing sovereignty and the UN Charter.
- Negotiation process
- Indian negotiators reportedly worked through the night, from Friday evening until nearly 4 a.m. Saturday.
- Earlier setbacks
- A BRICS deputy foreign ministers' meeting in April failed to produce a joint statement, while a May foreign ministers' meeting issued only a Chair's Statement.
- India's chairship theme
- India's 2026 BRICS chairship theme is Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.
- Global scale
- The expanded bloc reportedly represents more than 40 percent of the world's population and nearly a quarter of the global economy.
- Broader priorities
- The declaration is expected to address reform of the IMF, World Bank and UN Sanctions Committee, as well as economic, technological and people-to-people cooperation.
