Delhi has spent the last few weeks getting a glow-up, and it’s not for Diwali. Roundabouts are lit up, flower beds have appeared out of nowhere, and half the city’s signage now carries the BRICS logo. All of it is for one reason: the 18th BRICS Summit lands at Bharat Mandapam on September 12 and 13, and India is running the show as this year’s chair.
This isn’t just another photo-op summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping is making his first trip to India since the 2020 border standoff, which alone makes this a big deal for New Delhi and Beijing watchers. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also flying in, and PM Modi has already said he’s looking forward to hosting him. Add Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and leaders from Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, South Africa and the UAE to the guest list, and you get a room full of heads of state representing a serious chunk of the world’s population and economy.
This is Delhi. This is the moment.
— BRICS 2026 (@BricsIndia2026) September 10, 2026
With its heritage glowing and Bharat Mandapam gearing up, the capital puts the finishing touches in place for the 18th BRICS Summit.#BRICS2026 #BRICSIndia2026 #IndiaBRICSChairship pic.twitter.com/2HBXHFfnD0
So what’s actually on the table? India has built its BRICS presidency around the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” with officials pushing a broader “Humanity First” framing rather than pure economics. Expect real conversations around trade, energy security, food security, public health and building supply chains that don’t collapse the moment one country sneezes. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has already been laying groundwork at the BRICS Business Forum, pitching the idea of “borderless” digital trade as India tries to deepen its economic ties within the bloc. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to use his time at the summit to push for reforms to the UN Security Council, a subject India has long campaigned on.
None of this comes without a serious security operation running quietly in the background. With this many world leaders in one city, agencies aren’t taking chances. Indian security officials have flagged the Pakistan-based, ISI-linked Shahzad Bhatti Network in their latest threat assessment, watching for any attempt by local operatives to carry out reconnaissance or set up disruptions around the capital. It’s worth noting this comes weeks after a coordinated crackdown on August 12, when 253 people were detained across 14 states as part of an operation against the same network, with agencies recovering IEDs, grenades and weapons in the process. Delhi Police have also flagged cyber threats tied to the summit and put out advisories for residents. For a city that’s used to hosting big global events, Lutyens’ Delhi is once again dressed for the occasion, this time with the BRICS Friendship Rose Garden and fresh horticultural work adding to the spectacle. But behind the lights and flowers, the real story is what gets decided in the closed-door meetings over the next two days, and whether India can use its moment as chair to actually move the needle on trade, technology and global reform for a bloc that now represents a huge share of the world’s population.
