BRICS summit opens in Delhi with Putin, Xi in attendance

The 18th BRICS summit is being held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13 under India's presidency. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already arrived in Delhi for the summit, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is arriving today, September 12.

Heads of state, ministers and delegations from BRICS countries are taking part in the summit. Security has been tightened across Delhi as a result, with more than 200 paramilitary units deployed alongside a heavy police presence. India previously hosted and chaired the summit in 2012, 2016 and 2021. Earlier this year, in May, India also hosted a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers.

BRICS is a group of 11 emerging and developing countries. It originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group later expanded: Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran joined in 2024, and Indonesia became a full member in 2025. Several partner countries are also associated with BRICS, including Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan. BRICS is a grouping of countries that has come together to strengthen the voice of developing and emerging economies worldwide and to increase cooperation among them.

In 2001, British economist Jim O'Neill used the term "BRIC" in a research paper for four fast-emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India and China. The term was formed from the first letters of these four countries' names. BRICS leaders first met in 2006 at the G8 summit held in St Petersburg, Russia. According to the BRICS website, the group was formally established at a meeting of foreign ministers of these countries during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2006. Its first summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. India first chaired the BRICS summit in 2012, and this is India's fourth time chairing it.

South Africa agreed to join the group at a meeting of foreign ministers in New York in 2010. It was formally made a full member at the second summit, held in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, after which the group came to be called "BRICS". South Africa took part as a full member at the third summit, held in Sanya, China, in 2011.

BRICS is a multilateral platform of five of the world's major emerging economies, accounting for 41 percent of the world's population, about 24 percent of global GDP and 16 percent of global trade. The BRICS summit discusses both regional and global issues. Its main objective is to increase mutually beneficial cooperation across different sectors to speed up the development of member countries. Issues such as climate change, terrorism, global trade, energy and economic crises have also been discussed at the summit.

In terms of BRICS's share in the world, the group represents nearly half (49.5 percent) of the world's population. Its share of the global economy is about 40 percent, while its share of total world trade is around a quarter (26 percent). India is set to take over the BRICS presidency in 2026.