Overview
- India outlined a people‑centric BRICS 2026 theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability,” at the inaugural Sherpa/Sous‑Sherpa meeting in New Delhi.
- Russian Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov said the bloc is focused on integrating recent members and expanding partner engagement, leaving the door open to further enlargement without timelines and under consensus rules.
- Ahead of the summit, members will deepen trade and investment ties while advancing alternative financial infrastructure, including RBI‑backed proposals to link central bank digital currencies and projects such as a cross‑border payment reinsurance vehicle.
- Russia’s Sergey Lavrov welcomed India’s plan to host an AI summit during its chairmanship, calling for international norms on AI use, particularly in security and military settings.
- Partner outreach and bilateral diplomacy featured at the meeting, with Belarus attending as a partner and signaling interest in New Development Bank membership, and India and China holding a strategic dialogue on stabilizing ties and practical cooperation.