BRICS leaders gather in New Delhi as India hosts 2026 summit

New Delhi will host leaders from across the BRICS grouping this weekend, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The summit brings an 11-member bloc to the capital as India seeks to use its 2026 chairship to project its role in a more multipolar world. For residents, the immediate effect is a high-security diplomatic weekend in the city; summit-related closures and access restrictions have already been announced for September 11–13.

India’s economic position forms part of the backdrop. The country recorded 7.8% real GDP growth in the first quarter of FY 2026-27. In September, Japan Credit Rating Agency raised India’s sovereign rating from BBB+ to A- with a stable outlook, citing growth, fiscal quality, the financial system and India’s external position.

India first hosted a BRICS meeting in 2012, when slower growth, high inflation and a weak rupee fed doubts about its place in the grouping. The New Delhi meeting is now set against a very different diplomatic pitch: India as a convenor able to engage powers with competing interests.

The summit is scheduled for September 12 and 13.