On September 12, 2026, BRICS member countries adopted the “New Delhi Declaration” at the 18th BRICS Summit held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India. The 45-page BRICS New Delhi Declaration contains a total of 140 points and was adopted on the first day of the two-day summit. The full New Delhi Declaration can be read here.
The document covers almost everything from the global economy and wars to the dollar, artificial intelligence, terrorism, the Middle East, energy and climate change. A 45-page declaration may sound difficult, but its main messages are actually quite easy to understand.
According to the Government of India’s official BRICS 2026 information, BRICS now has 11 members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Together, these countries represent about 49.5 percent of the world’s population, 40 percent of global GDP and 26 percent of global trade.
BRICS is important not because all its members agree on everything. India and China have their own disagreements, while Iran and the UAE do not always have the same regional interests. What makes BRICS important is that these different countries are still trying to agree on common positions on trade, finance, development, technology and international politics.
So what is actually inside the 140-point BRICS New Delhi Declaration?
The first big message is that BRICS wants changes in the way global power is shared. Its argument is simple: the world has changed, so international institutions also need to change.
BRICS wants developing countries to have greater representation in institutions such as the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. China and Russia also reiterated support for the desire of India and Brazil to play a greater role in the United Nations, including the Security Council.
In simple language, the Global South does not want only to follow rules made by others. Developing countries also want a bigger role in making those rules.
The second major issue is unilateral tariffs and economic pressure. BRICS has expressed concern about tariff and non-tariff measures that can damage international trade and disrupt global supply chains.
The declaration also takes a position against unilateral economic sanctions and secondary sanctions that are not authorized by the UN Security Council. In simple terms, secondary sanctions mean that even a bank, company or country that is not the original target can face punishment for continuing to do business with a sanctioned country.
The declaration does not directly name the United States in this section. However, because Washington has enormous power over the international financial system and frequently uses sanctions as a foreign-policy tool, this position clearly has importance for the United States. Reuters reported on the declaration’s position on tariffs and sanctions.
The third big question is whether BRICS is trying to get rid of the dollar. The answer is no. No new BRICS currency has been announced, and the U.S. dollar is not suddenly becoming useless.
What BRICS is trying to do is slower but potentially important over the long term. Member countries want to increase trade and investment in their own currencies and make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and easier.
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration discusses how the payment and financial messaging systems of different BRICS countries can work more easily with one another. It also discusses greater use of members’ local currencies for trade settlements and investment. More details on BRICS local-currency trade and payments are available here.
A simple example makes this easier to understand. If India buys goods from another BRICS country and both sides can settle that trade directly in their own currencies, they may not always need to convert the payment into U.S. dollars first.
That does not mean the dollar disappears. It simply means BRICS countries are trying to create more ways to conduct international payments without depending on the dollar for every transaction.
This is where the issue becomes important for America in the long term. The special position of the dollar in global trade and finance gives the United States enormous economic and political influence.
If BRICS countries conduct a much larger share of their trade in local currencies over the next 10 or 20 years, some of that influence could gradually decrease. But it would be unrealistic to say that “the dollar is finished” or that BRICS has already ended dollar dominance.
The fourth issue is the New Development Bank, or NDB. This is BRICS’ own development bank, and the BRICS New Delhi Declaration calls for a stronger role for it.
BRICS wants the bank to finance more infrastructure and development projects, mobilize more resources and increase financing in local currencies. The declaration also describes the NDB as an important institution for development in emerging economies and the Global South.
This could give developing countries another source of financing alongside institutions such as the World Bank. It does not mean the World Bank will disappear, but it could give some countries more choices.
The fifth major issue is the Middle East. This was not an easy subject for BRICS because Iran is a member, while the United Arab Emirates is also a member, and their security and regional interests are not always the same.
Despite those differences, the declaration expresses deep concern about escalating tensions in the Middle East. It calls on all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid actions that could make the situation worse.
It also stresses dialogue, consultation and diplomacy, as well as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. The fact that countries with very different interests could agree on common language was itself significant. Reuters described the agreement as an important test of BRICS unity.
The sixth issue is Gaza and Palestine. The declaration gives significant attention to the protection of civilians, humanitarian assistance and the Palestinian question.
BRICS opposes the forced displacement of Palestinians and again supports a two-state solution. It also supports an independent and viable Palestinian state and full Palestinian membership in the United Nations.
This shows that BRICS is no longer discussing only economics, banking and trade. It is also trying to develop common positions on major international political and security issues.
The seventh issue is terrorism. For India, this is one of the most important parts of the declaration.
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people were killed. It also takes a strong position against terrorism, terrorist financing, safe havens and the cross-border movement of terrorists.
BRICS also says there should be no double standards in fighting terrorism. For India, getting countries with very different political and strategic interests to agree on this language is an important diplomatic achievement.
The eighth issue is oil, gas, coal and climate change. BRICS recognizes the need for cleaner energy and action against climate change, but it also wants the realities of developing countries to be considered.
A wealthy country may be able to move away from coal, oil and gas more quickly, while a poorer or rapidly developing country may still depend on these fuels for electricity, industry, jobs and economic growth. BRICS therefore says the energy transition should be “just, orderly, equitable and inclusive.”
The declaration also recognizes that fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in the energy mix of many emerging and developing economies. The energy section of the declaration is explained in more detail here.
The ninth issue is artificial intelligence, or AI. BRICS believes AI will play a major role in the future of the economy, education, health, industry and technology.
The group does not want the benefits of AI and new technologies to remain concentrated only in a few wealthy countries or large technology companies. It wants countries in the Global South to have better access to AI resources, digital technology and the ability to build their own technological capacity.
The declaration also stresses that AI should be safe, trustworthy and inclusive. In other words, BRICS sees AI not only as a technology issue, but also as part of the future balance of global economic power.
So what is the real message of this 45-page declaration? The BRICS New Delhi Declaration is not an announcement of a military alliance against the United States, it has not created an alternative to NATO, and it has not launched a new BRICS currency. The dollar is not disappearing either.
But the declaration does show a deeper change. BRICS is basically saying that the current international system can continue, but the power to make the rules of global politics, economics and trade should not remain concentrated in the hands of only a small number of Western countries.
Countries in the Global South want more power, more representation and more choices. Where the existing system does not meet their needs, BRICS wants to create additional options through its own development bank, local-currency trade, cross-border payment systems and wider economic cooperation.
For Bangladesh, this is not a distant issue. Changes in the value and role of the dollar, international borrowing, global trade, energy prices, sanctions, India-China economic relations and future payment systems can all affect countries such as Bangladesh.
If more trade in Asia is eventually settled outside the dollar, Bangladesh may also have to think about how it pays for imports, manages foreign-exchange reserves and borrows from abroad. Changes in BRICS financial systems therefore could eventually create both new opportunities and new challenges for Bangladesh.
That is why it would be too simple to describe BRICS only as a “China-Russia anti-American alliance.” At the same time, it would also be an exaggeration to say that BRICS has already ended American or Western economic dominance.
Can BRICS gradually help create a world in which the United States remains a major global power, but is no longer the only center of the international system?
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration does not create that new world overnight, but its 140 points show clearly the direction in which BRICS wants to move. Whether the group can turn that ambition into real economic and political power will be the bigger question in the years ahead.
Does this also matter for the geopolitical position of the Indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts? Or did Bangladesh lose an opportunity?
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