The 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi opened with the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration, a document calling for "maximum restraint" in the Middle East and reform of global governance institutions [1][5][8]. Modi announced the declaration's adoption on the summit's first day after India brokered a last-minute compromise between Iran and the UAE on Middle East war language [32][33]. The 11-member bloc represents approximately 49% of the world's population and 40% of global GDP [2][7].
Modi opened the summit by calling for transforming the "pyramid of privilege" of global governance into a "platform of partnership" and proposing a ten-point reform roadmap by the next summit [10][20][31]. Modi stated that "BRICS is not against anyone" and described the bloc as reaching a moment in which the Global South must move from being a "rule-taker" to a "rule-shaper" [8][16][31]. Chatham House researcher Chietigj Bajpaee described India's objective as pursuing "un orden no occidental, pero no explícitamente antioccidental" (a non-Western order that is not explicitly anti-Western) [7]. Yale lecturer Sushant Singh said India will not accept an anti-Western line given its defense ties with the US and trade ties with the West [19]. MIT's Mihaela Papa said India's cross-camp relationships make it a bridge-builder likely to keep BRICS focused on practical cooperation [19].
The declaration expresses "deep concern" over escalating Middle East tensions, calls for "maximum restraint," and condemns "deliberate attacks" on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards — read as indirect criticism of US and Israeli strikes on Iran [6][8][16]. On the summit sidelines, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held their highest-level meeting since the conflict began, discussing regional de-escalation [3][17][38]. The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the meeting addressed "reducing tensions, promoting stability in the region, and enhancing prospects for peace and development for its peoples" [3]. Former Indian Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir said India's achievement was keeping difficult conversations going by showing that countries of the region can sit at the same table [6]. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the declaration aligns with Iran's positions on condemning attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities and opposing unilateral sanctions [39]. Bahrain refused to meet Pezeshkian at the summit [17].
Putin told the summit that the unipolar system is receding and the balance of power is shifting to the Global South, accusing countries "accustomed to thinking in colonial categories" of using tariffs, sanctions and brute force [8][16][40]. Xi Jinping called on BRICS to "situarse con firmeza en el lado correcto de la historia" (stand firmly on the right side of history), oppose bloc confrontation and protectionism, and amplify the voice of the Global South [23][26]. Pezeshkian warned that the Middle East does not need the United States to be a "regional policeman" and backed expanding trade in national currencies [8][20][29]. Reader commentary on Japan Today split between praise for BRICS as a counterweight to US power and dismissal of the bloc as incapable of achieving anything beyond scheduling meetings [11].
The declaration's adoption marked a shift from May, when BRICS foreign ministers failed to agree on a joint statement on the Middle East [8][20]. Observer Research Foundation researcher Harsh V Pant said the Gulf conflict would be "the central fault line" at the summit and that BRICS expansion, once seen as an achievement, now looks like "a big constraint" [20][29]. University of Hong Kong professor Alejandro Reyes said direct Iran-UAE confrontation makes common language difficult to build [2][25]. Heinrich Böll Foundation's Jochen Luckscheiter cautioned against exaggerated expectations for a forum that is not a union with a common foreign policy, noting that Saudi Arabia and the UAE refused to condemn the US and Israel [15]. Eurasia Group's Pramit Pal Chaudhuri said the main accomplishment was producing a joint statement at all [34]. Shashi Tharoor said "there is very little doubt that all the BRICS members have not necessarily upheld the UN Charter, the inviolability of borders, the sovereignty of member states of the UN, and the inadmissibility of the use of force to settle international disputes" [5][28].
The declaration contains no proposal for a common BRICS currency or dollar-replacement mechanism [1][2]. Natixis chief economist Alicia García-Herrero said BRICS leaders "will not try to substitute the dollar" [2][25]. JNU professor Anuradha Mitra Chenoy said the de-dollarization debate "is often overstated," with members pragmatically settling more bilateral trade in local currencies to cut transaction costs and reduce exposure to a weaponized dollar [5][28]. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia does not seek to promote de-dollarization but noted that 90% of Russia's BRICS transactions already use local currencies [42]. Trump threatened in November 2024 to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they created a common currency or backed another currency to replace the dollar [7].
ORF China researcher Antara Ghosal Singh said India is "very worried about being dragged into a China-directed system or becoming, even involuntarily, part of the internationalization of the renminbi" [14]. JNU professor Rajesh Rajagopalan argued that "India's objective in the BRICS should be to make it ineffective so that it doesn't become a vehicle for China's great power ambitions" [34]. Economist Surjit Bhalla argued India should "forget BRICS" and look to the West as its future global partner [34]. JNU professor Srikanth Kondapalli said China wants to define BRICS as a bloc against Western unilateralism and that expansion benefits China more than others [42]. Tamkang University's Lin Xiaozhen said Modi wants to use hosting the summit to prevent China from unilaterally defining BRICS' political direction [42].
The declaration repeated the Rio de Janeiro language condemning the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, with China signing on to "zero tolerance" for terrorism and action against terrorist safe havens [9]. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun had "strongly condemned" the attack in April 2025, while Beijing expressed "regret" over India's Operation Sindoor military response [9]. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri described the strikes as "measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible" [9]. The declaration stops short of attributing the attack to Pakistan or endorsing India's military response [9].
Trump has branded the bloc "anti-American" [2][7]. Argentina's President Javier Milei declared that Argentina would follow a West-leaning policy and would not join BRICS [2][25]. PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti welcomed BRICS' condemnation of the Pahalgam attack but said India as summit chair should have shown courage and brought a proposal clearly condemning Israel's actions in Gaza and US-Israel strikes on Iran, arguing terrorism condemnation cannot be selective [43]. RFI reported Delhi residents saying the poor are hidden behind summit facades while inequality remains India's main obstacle, with economics student Sanket stating "L'inégalité est élevée en Inde" (inequality is high in India) [14].
CGTN reported that the New Development Bank has approved 139 projects worth approximately $43 billion by end-2025 [4]. South African International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola cited NDB-funded projects including a Polokwane hospital and the Magalies water project as evidence of BRICS delivering tangible results [36]. Indonesian Chamber of Commerce chairman Anindya Bakrie proposed three steps to strengthen intra-BRICS trade, stating "Kedaulatan finansial tidak harus berarti isolasi finansial" (financial sovereignty need not mean financial isolation) [46].
China will take over the BRICS presidency and host the 19th summit next year [11][18][33]. Xi told Modi that China approaches relations with India from a "strategic and long-term perspective," and India's foreign ministry said both leaders expressed commitment to a "fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question" [5][20][28]. Modi pressed Putin to end the war in Ukraine during their bilateral meeting [5][28]. The declaration also called for ceasefires and humanitarian access in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria [6].