Global power shifts in focus as Delhi hosts BRICS 2026

India is hosting the 18th BRICS summit this year, with preparations in their final stage. To mark the occasion, a special forum called "BRICS Dialogues" is being held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026, focusing on the changing equations in global politics and economics.

The event is being held under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".

Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf said BRICS is a very important platform for India and China, two rising powers, to come together and talk, and that this helps ease tensions between the two countries. Speaking about the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, he warned that if the conflict continues, there could be a fuel shortage by the end of the year, pushing crude oil prices to historic highs.

Economist and author Dr Jeffrey D. Sachs said the United States is now a power in decline, while Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world. He said India is the fastest-growing economy in the world, and that strong ties with China would work to India's advantage. He also noted that BRICS is emerging as a platform that challenges American dominance and advances a multipolar world.

Parag Khanna, founder and CEO of AlphaGeo, said BRICS should focus on strengthening economic cooperation among its members rather than mediating global disputes. He said trade among member countries could be increased through schemes such as energy, infrastructure and the New Development Bank (NDB), reducing dependence on the dollar.

In this series of interviews, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari and Gautam Bambawale, India's former ambassador to China, will be featured tomorrow, Saturday, September 12. Earlier, several experts, including former Tibetan prime minister Lobsang Sangay, former G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant and ITPO chairman Javed Ashrafi, shared their views on the expansion of BRICS.