UN Secretary-General to Attend BRICS Summit in New Delhi as India Holds Chairship

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to participate in the 18th BRICS Summit later this month in New Delhi, according to updates from the UN leadership and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

As the chair for 2026, India is hosting the summit on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam. The event will convene leaders of BRICS member and partner countries, alongside outreach invitees. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, noted that an official announcement regarding the participation is expected soon as preparations finalize.

India's chairship theme for the year is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. Ahead of the leaders' summit, more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been conducted across over 25 cities in India. These sessions have focused on reinforcing the BRICS strategic partnership across political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

According to the MEA, these engagements and business-to-business initiatives have advanced practical and development-oriented cooperation among member nations. India assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on January 1, 2026, having previously held the role in 2012, 2016, and 2021. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the BRICS grouping.

Guterres' participation follows his visit to India earlier this year in February for the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, which was the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South. Recently, on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Guterres engaged with various international leaders, discussing regional stability, economic impacts, and diplomatic resolutions to ongoing conflicts.

Global leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masozh Pezeshkian are slated to arrive in New Delhi for the summit. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is also widely expected to attend before traveling to the United States for a meeting with President Donald Trump later in the month.

"The upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi highlights India's growing role in shaping global economic dialogue and multilateral cooperation. With over 350 preparatory engagements held across the country, the business and policy ecosystem stands to benefit from strengthened international frameworks, trade partnerships, and cross-border innovation discussions." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes