BRICS Summit in New Delhi today: Key leaders, agenda and what’s in store on Day 1

BRICS Summit today: The stage is all set for BRICS Summit 2026 to kickstart in the national capital today, 12 September.

The two-day summit is being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

India is the BRICS Chair for the 2026 edition.

Quick answers to key questions

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QUESTIONS

The theme of the BRICS Summit 2026 is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.

Bilateral meetings at the BRICS Summit are scheduled to occur at Hyderabad House, with PM Modi meeting leaders from various member countries throughout the day.

India's role as BRICS Chair is significant as it seeks to build consensus among member states that have competing geopolitical interests, especially during heightened tensions from the US-Iran war.

In their closed-door session, BRICS leaders will discuss inclusive global governance and strengthening multilateralism.

The BRICS Summit 2026 will take place on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are among the global leaders attending the summit.

PM Modi had already had bilateral meetings with Putin and Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the summit. Modi is meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping today evening.

Here’s what Day 1 has in store:

The first day of BRICS events will begin at 2 PM at Bharat Mandapam. Apart from the BRICS main events, PM Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with global leaders at Hyderabad House from 10 AM on wards.

Closed-door session: BRICS leaders will discuss inclusive global governance and strengthening multilateralism at Bharat Mandapam.

Key bilaterals: PM Modi is scheduled to meet China’s Xi Jinping, UAE’s Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed Ali, Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim and Vietnam’s Le Minh Hung.

Bharat Innovates: BRICS leaders will visit the exhibition showcasing India’s innovation and technology capabilities.

Tree-planting ceremony: BRICS leaders will participate in a joint ceremonial tree-planting event.

Gala dinner: PM Modi will host BRICS leaders at a dinner to mark the summit.

So the events are basically divided into two – BRICS events and bilaterals. Here is complete itinerary for the day:

BRICS Events: Day 1, Saturday

2 PM: Arrival of BRICS Leaders (BRICS Member Countries)

Venue: Level 2, Bharat Mandapam

2:35 PM: Closed Session for BRICS Member Countries: “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism”

Venue: Summit Hall, Level 2, Bharat Mandapam

4:25 PM: Witnessing “Bharat Innovates Exhibition (Leaders of BRICS Member Countries)

Venue: Hall 14, Bharat Mandapam

5:05 PM: Family Photo (Leaders of BRICS Member Countries)

Venue: Outside Lawns, Bharat Mandapam

5:10 PM: Joint Tree Plantation (Leaders of BRICS Member Countries)

Venue: Outside Lawns, Bharat Mandapam

7:30 PM: Gala Dinner hosted by the Prime Minister

Venue: Level 3, Bharat Mandapam

Bilateral Meetings, Saturday

10 AM: PM Modi meets Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Venue: Hyderabad House

10:30 AM: PM Modi meets Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia

Venue: Hyderabad House

11 AM: PM Modi meets Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Venue: Hyderabad House

11:30 AM: PM Modi meets Le Minh Hung, Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Venue: Hyderabad House

11:30 AM: President’s Meeting with Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Venue: Rashtrapati Bhavan

5:45 PM: PM Modi meets Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

Venue: Bharat Mandapam

India is BRICS Chair for 2026 edition

Initially established as the BRIC alliance comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, which convened its first Foreign Ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2006 and held its inaugural summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009, the group expanded to BRICS following South Africa's admission in 2011.

The grouping has since undergone a transformative expansion, welcoming Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE as full members in January 2024, followed by Indonesia in January 2025.

Today, featuring 11 full member states alongside an expanding array of partner nations, the alliance commands significant global economic and diplomatic influence.

US-Iran War Shadow

The BRICS Summit comes at a challenging moment for India, as the grouping navigates the fallout from the US-Iran war and the wider crisis in the Middle East.

For New Delhi, the immediate challenge will be to strike a delicate diplomatic balance. The expanded BRICS includes Iran as well as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, countries with differing interests and positions on the regional conflict.

At the same time, India maintains important strategic and economic relationships with the United States and the Gulf countries. That makes New Delhi's role as BRICS chair particularly significant as it seeks to build consensus among members with competing geopolitical interests.

Under these circumstances, India faces a significant diplomatic test in forging consensus at the upcoming BRICS Summit, according to Harsh V. Pant, Vice President of Studies and Foreign Policy at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

Fragmentation is growing, and great powers are at loggerheads with each other. Wars are raging across the world from the Middle East to Europe, with no end in sight.

The gathering, Pant argued, occurs at a critical juncture for the international community, and as such, India has a central role to play in steering the platform toward practical solutions for the Global South.

“Fragmentation is growing, and great powers are at loggerheads with each other. Wars are raging across the world from the Middle East to Europe, with no end in sight,” Pant told news agency ANI.