Leaders of the BRICS group approved by unanimity on Saturday (12) the New Delhi Declaration, the final document of the bloc's 18th summit, which runs through Sunday (13) in the Indian capital. According to Folha de S.Paulo, the text condemns unilateral tariffs and trade barriers, criticizes economic sanctions imposed without authorization from the United Nations Security Council and sets out to deepen the use of local currencies in trade and investment among member countries.
The group now gathers 11 countries: founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, plus Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran. Together they account for 39% of the world economy, 48.5% of the global population and 23% of world trade, according to Agência Brasil. The declaration lands amid the wave of tariffs imposed by the United States since Donald Trump took office in 2025. Without naming the country or the president, the text voices "grave concern" over the spread of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures, which the leaders call incompatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a threat to global supply chains. "The multilateral trading system has reached a critical crossroads," the document states, as reported by Folha. It also criticizes protectionist measures presented on environmental grounds and calls for governance changes at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the WTO itself.
For Brazil, the summit had a particular twist. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was the only founding member's leader to stay home: with his reelection campaign in full swing, he sent Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to New Delhi instead, according to Poder360. Brazil is among the main targets of the American tariff hikes, alongside China and India. The country also came away with two entries of its own in the document: a proposal, made with South Africa, to create an international panel on inequality, and the renewed support of China and Russia for a bigger role for Brazil and India at the UN Security Council, where Brasília has sought a permanent seat for decades. The text stops short of naming Brazil as a future permanent member.
Middle East war tests the bloc's unity
The summit placed countries on opposite sides of the Middle East war on the same stage. According to Agência Brasil, the conflict began in February this year, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on the argument that it was developing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. In retaliation, Iran struck the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, bloc members aligned with Washington. Present in New Delhi were host Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Presidents Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran. Paragraph 28 of the declaration names no country and never uses the word war, a device common in diplomatic documents to ease consensus, the outlet notes:
"We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East/West Asia and, recalling our respective national positions, call for the utmost restraint and for abstention from actions that could further aggravate the situation."
Local currencies, no single currency
On finance, the advance was cautious. The declaration points to practical solutions for efficient cross-border payment mechanisms in local currencies and reinforces the integration of national payment systems, but makes no mention of a single BRICS currency or of replacing the dollar, according to Agência Brasil and Folha. The leaders asked the New Development Bank (NDB), the bloc's bank, to expand its capacity to mobilize resources, diversify its funding sources and increase local-currency lending for infrastructure projects.
The summit marked 20 years since the group's creation, Folha reports. It also carried diplomatic symbolism: it was the Chinese president's first visit to India in seven years, with a 400-person delegation, part of a rapprochement between neighbors whose border dispute led to a 2020 clash that left 24 dead, Poder360 recalls. Formally titled "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," the declaration runs to 35 pages and 140 paragraphs. In 2025, Brazil held the group's rotating presidency and hosted the July summit in Rio de Janeiro.