BRICS issues New Delhi Declaration, as UAE and Iran back down from tough positions

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The 11-member BRICS grouping adopted the New Delhi Declaration at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 12, 2026. Credit: X/@narendramodi

India forged a consensus of BRICS countries on Saturday (September 12, 2026), after Iran and the United Arab Emirates agreed to a last-minute compromise on the language used about the war in West Asia, allowing the 11-member grouping to adopt the New Delhi Declaration at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The statement — that did not directly mention the attacks against Iran by the United States and Israel nor Iran’s subsequent strikes on its Persian Gulf neighbours, including the UAE — called for “maximum restraint” in the war. It made no separate mention of the Russian war in Ukraine.

The meeting was attended by the leaders of eight member countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the leaders of Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa. Brazil and the UAE sent high-level representatives.

Addressing the leaders, Mr. Modi said that 20 years after the grouping of emerging economies was originally formed, BRICS was “coming of age” with a “distinct identity” not aimed against others on the global stage.

“We respect each other’s perspectives and move forward through consensus. We strive to move ahead with an approach that is not against anyone but instead seeks to take everyone along,” the Prime Minister said, in a possible reference to the criticism of BRICS in the U.S. as an “anti-western” grouping.

Mr. Modi suggested that BRICS build a “troika” system like the G-20, so incoming and outgoing Presidents of the grouping bring continuity to discussions. He also proposed a roadmap for global governance reform, a seafarer distress network, and a BRICS global south mechanism for skill development in new technologies. The New Delhi declaration called for “comprehensive reform” of the United Nations, including support for Brazil and India to get a bigger role in the Security Council.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who held an hour-long bilateral meeting with Mr. Modi after the session, announced that China would take over the presidency of BRICS for the next year. The grouping had become the “world’s most influential platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries,” he said.

The joint declaration also called for the protection of civilians and expressed “deep concern” over attacks on civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities in West Asia, in a reference to the U.S. and Israel’s missile strikes in Iran.

The paragraphs on the war in Iran took delicate diplomacy by Indian negotiators at “various levels”, said officials, and was forged after overnight negotiations and talks between Mr. Modi and the leaders of Iran, Russia, and the UAE. In a rare diplomatic breakthrough, Iran’s President, Mr.