NEW DELHI / Against a backdrop of widening wars, disrupted maritime trade, soaring energy prices, protectionist tariffs and growing geopolitical fragmentation, BRICS leaders have adopted a sweeping New Delhi Declaration pledging to keep global trade, energy flows and supply chains functioning while calling for diplomacy, restraint and reform of the international economic order.

The declaration was unanimously adopted on Saturday, September 12, during the first day of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” It represents one of the most significant attempts by the expanded grouping to reconcile sharply different national interests around a common economic and diplomatic agenda.

The document comes at an unusually volatile moment. The continuing Russia-Ukraine war, renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities, conflict across the wider Middle East, attacks on commercial shipping and energy infrastructure, Western sanctions and an increasingly aggressive global tariff environment have combined to place unprecedented pressure on trade routes and production networks.

Energy markets have been particularly exposed. Brent crude moved back above $100 a barrel this week, while traffic and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain well below pre-war levels. Before the conflict, the strait carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies. Renewed U.S.-Iran attacks on shipping and instability around the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb have added to fears over the security of international commerce.

The New Delhi Declaration directly reflects those concerns. BRICS leaders said they would work together to maintain the smooth flow of global trade, supply chains and energy in accordance with international law, while urging countries involved in Middle East hostilities to exercise “maximum restraint” and avoid actions that could deepen the crisis. The declaration also stresses the protection of civilians, civilian infrastructure, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The wording is diplomatically significant because BRICS includes countries with very different positions on the Middle East conflict. Iran is part of the grouping, while the United Arab Emirates maintains close strategic relations with Washington. Despite those differences, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan backed the consensus language and held what Reuters described as the highest-level Iran-UAE encounter since the latest phase of the war began.

Rather than assigning direct blame to individual governments, the declaration emphasizes negotiation and multilateral diplomacy. BRICS reaffirmed that international disputes should be settled through dialogue, consultation and diplomatic means, an approach that allowed members with sharply differing strategic alignments to accept a common document.

The leaders nevertheless expressed serious concern over attacks on civilian infrastructure and on peaceful nuclear facilities under full International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, saying nuclear safety and security must be protected even during armed conflict. The language is particularly relevant to the strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure that have intensified international concerns over escalation and radioactive risk.

Economic security forms an equally important part of the declaration. BRICS warned that indiscriminate tariffs, non-tariff barriers and protectionist measures inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules could reduce global trade, disrupt supply chains, increase uncertainty and disproportionately harm emerging and developing economies.

The declaration states that the multilateral trading system has reached a difficult crossroads and expresses “serious concerns” about unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures that distort trade. It calls for strengthening an open, transparent, predictable, equitable and rules-based global trading system with the WTO at its core, while also demanding restoration of a functioning two-tier WTO dispute-settlement system.

BRICS went further by condemning unilateral economic and secondary sanctions that it considers contrary to international law and not authorized by the United Nations Security Council. According to the declaration, such measures can damage development, food security, health systems and vulnerable populations in targeted states.

Although Washington is not named in the relevant sections, the language is clearly being read in the context of U.S. sanctions on countries including Russia and Iran and the broader tariff policies pursued under President Donald Trump.

Trump has repeatedly criticized BRICS, particularly its attempts to increase the use of national currencies and develop payment arrangements less dependent on the U.S.-dominated financial system. In July 2025, Trump said countries aligning themselves with what he described as BRICS’ “anti-American policies” could face an additional 10 percent tariff. He also accused the bloc of trying to challenge the international role of the dollar.

Yet the New Delhi summit stopped well short of creating a common BRICS currency.

Instead, leaders endorsed continued technical work on faster, cheaper and more secure cross-border payments. The declaration says the BRICS Payment Task Force will continue studying interoperability between national payment and messaging systems and ways to facilitate trade settlements and investment using members’ local currencies while respecting individual national priorities.

Indian officials have also made clear that there is currently no formal proposal for a single BRICS currency. The immediate emphasis is on practical interoperability, local-currency settlement and lower transaction costs rather than replacing the dollar with a new shared currency.

Supply-chain resilience is another major pillar of the summit.

BRICS welcomed the BRICS Logistics Supply-Chain Cooperation Framework, a voluntary, consensus-based mechanism designed to strengthen transport and logistics networks across member states. The initiative seeks greater cooperation in cargo and shipping services, technical knowledge, transport connectivity, localized production and assembly, capacity building and climate-resilient logistics.

The bloc also advanced the BRICS Global Value Chains Action Plan 2026-2030. The declaration says global value chains should become more resilient, efficient, predictable, productive, transparent, secure, stable and inclusive. It gives particular attention to helping developing countries move into higher-value segments of global manufacturing rather than remaining primarily suppliers of raw materials or low-value inputs.

Prime Minister Modi placed maritime security at the center of his economic message.

Addressing the BRICS Business Forum, he said that at a time when trade barriers are rising, India is trying to build “economic bridges.” He argued that world trade cannot function normally unless sea lanes remain secure, supply routes remain open and seafarers are protected.

Modi has also proposed a Seafarers’ Emergency Support Network, reflecting growing concern over attacks and casualties involving merchant crews in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and other conflict-affected shipping corridors.

The Indian leader called on BRICS to move from declarations to measurable economic results. Among ideas raised during the summit were deeper business-to-business cooperation, reducing major obstacles to intra-BRICS commerce, expanding startup partnerships and strengthening cooperation in strategic manufacturing, semiconductors, biotechnology, digital infrastructure and shipbuilding.

The scale of the grouping gives such proposals considerable economic significance. Modi told the Business Forum that BRICS economies now account for about half of the world’s population, around 40 percent of global GDP and more than one-quarter of world trade, underlining how far the bloc has expanded beyond its original five-member structure.

Financial governance is another central theme. BRICS again demanded greater representation for emerging markets and developing economies in the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other Bretton Woods institutions, arguing that their governance structures have failed to keep pace with shifts in the global economy.

China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, also reiterated support for the aspirations of India and Brazil to play a greater role at the United Nations, including the Security Council, while the declaration called for a stronger Global South voice in global governance.

The New Development Bank, established by BRICS, remains important to this strategy. Members are encouraging greater local-currency financing, diversified funding and new investment mechanisms aimed at infrastructure and sustainable development across emerging economies.

The summit has also become a major stage for attempts to repair India-China relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit marks his first trip to India in seven years. During talks with Modi, the two leaders emphasized border stability, business links, connectivity, market access and the need to address structural problems in bilateral trade and supply chains. India-China merchandise trade reached a record $155.6 billion in 2025, but India’s deficit with China exceeded $100 billion, illustrating the imbalance New Delhi wants to address.

Xi also called on BRICS to take a more active role in promoting peace in the Middle East, arguing that continued war serves neither the people of the region nor the wider international community. China is scheduled to assume the BRICS chairmanship in 2027 and host the 19th BRICS Summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has pressed for BRICS to deepen practical cooperation in investment, technology, infrastructure and financial arrangements at a time when Russia remains subject to extensive Western sanctions. India and Russia have separately set a goal of taking bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, while Moscow continues to view BRICS as an important economic platform for strengthening non-Western commercial links.

The summit also demonstrates the difficulty of maintaining unity in an increasingly diverse organization. India and China remain strategic competitors despite their diplomatic thaw. Iran and the UAE have different regional security interests. Russia seeks alternatives to Western economic and financial systems, while India, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE and several other participants want to preserve extensive commercial and strategic ties with the United States and Europe.

Those divisions have previously made consensus difficult. The ability to produce the New Delhi Declaration despite disagreements over the Middle East is therefore being viewed as a diplomatic success for host India.

There is even some continuing inconsistency in international descriptions of BRICS membership. Several participating governments and recent summit material describe the expanded bloc as having 11 members, including Saudi Arabia, while some international reports continue to list 10 members and omit Riyadh—a reflection of the ambiguity that surrounded Saudi Arabia’s formal accession for some time.

Despite these internal differences, the central message emerging from New Delhi is clear: BRICS wants to position itself as a stronger collective voice for emerging economies at a moment when war, sanctions, tariff competition and strategic rivalry are fragmenting the global economy.

The declaration’s commitment to keep trade routes open, strengthen supply chains, protect energy flows, reform global institutions and expand practical economic cooperation is therefore more than a technical trade agenda. It is also a statement about how much influence the Global South believes it should have over the rules governing international commerce and finance.

The real test will come after the summit.

Creating logistics frameworks and payment working groups is easier than removing political distrust, trade imbalances and strategic rivalry. The effectiveness of the New Delhi Declaration will ultimately be judged by whether BRICS can turn its ambitious language on supply chains, customs cooperation, payments, technology, infrastructure and multilateral reform into concrete results—and whether a grouping containing some of the world’s most important geopolitical rivals can maintain unity when their national interests collide.