BRICS Parliamentary Forum 2026: New Delhi Joint Declaration, Theme and Key Points

What happened

The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum was held in New Delhi on 26–27 October 2026, hosted by the Parliament of India. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated it on 26 October at Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament House Complex. On 27 October the Forum ended with the adoption of a Joint Declaration.

The theme, as given in the Joint Declaration, was "Fostering Parliaments for People-Centric Development". Its high-level sessions were organised around four themes: resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability. These are the same four words as in the theme of India's 2026 BRICS Chairship.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met MPs from BRICS countries on 26 October. In his valedictory address, Om Birla congratulated China, which takes over the BRICS Chairship for 2027. The declaration says the Forum will meet again in 2027 under China's chairship.

Background

• BRICS: According to PIB's BRICS backgrounder, BRIC was formally set up in 2006, and the first BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. The backgrounder lists 11 members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. It also lists 10 partner countries that joined in 2025.
• India's chairship: 2026 is India's fourth BRICS Chairship, after 2012, 2016 and 2021. Its theme is "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability". The 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2026 and adopted the New Delhi Leaders Declaration.
• Parliamentary track: The parliamentary track is one part of BRICS cooperation. The 2026 declaration credits the eleven earlier meetings of the Forum with building dialogue between member Parliaments. It also cites a Protocol to the Memorandum of Understanding on the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, dated 11 July 2024.

Key details

The declaration was issued in the name of the Parliaments of Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the UAE. It also welcomed the participation of partner countries.

What the Joint Declaration says

1. India's chairship: It supports India's 2026 Chairship and its theme, congratulates India on hosting the 18th Summit, and welcomes the New Delhi Leaders Declaration.
2. UN reform: It backs comprehensive reform of the UN, including the Security Council, and welcomes Paragraph 13 of the 2026 New Delhi Declaration.
3. Terrorism: It condemns the 22 April 2025 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed. It also condemns cross-border movement of terrorists, terror financing and safe havens, calls for zero tolerance and rejects double standards. It asks for the UN's Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to be finalised quickly.
4. Sanctions: It condemns unilateral coercive measures, including unilateral economic sanctions and secondary sanctions, when they are contrary to international law.
5. West Asia: It expresses deep concern at escalating tensions, calls for maximum restraint and the protection of civilians, and stresses keeping global trade, supply chains and energy flowing smoothly. Separately, it supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
6. Technology: It calls for safe, secure and equitable use of AI and ICTs, stresses digital sovereignty, and asks Parliaments to share how they use digital and AI tools. It also notes the proposal for a digital public infrastructure (DPI) repository for BRICS countries.
7. Climate: It calls for implementing NDCs under the Paris Agreement in line with common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), and for developed countries to provide finance and technology for adaptation.
8. Parliamentary cooperation: It notes Russia's idea of a BRICS Plus geopolitical group within the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Russia's proposal for a BRICS inter-parliamentary Working Group on Sport. It also marks the 10th anniversary of the BRICS Women's Parliamentarians Forum by recalling the Jaipur Declaration of 2016.

On the sidelines

• At a plenary session, Om Birla described India's digital tools for Parliament: the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), "One Nation, One Legislative Platform", the daily List of Business in 10 languages (with work under way to cover all 22 scheduled languages), and simultaneous interpretation in 22 languages.
• He held bilateral meetings with UAE Federal National Council Speaker Saqr Ghobash, Vice Chairman Zheng Jianbang of China's National People's Congress, and Ahmed Naderi, a Member of the Presidium of Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly. With Iran's delegate he discussed Chabahar Port cooperation, and with China's he raised peace and tranquillity along the border.

Why it matters

• Parliaments back the summit outcome. By endorsing the leaders' New Delhi Declaration, legislators give India's chairship priorities support beyond governments alone.
• India's priorities are in the text. Official accounts of the closing day highlight the counter-terrorism language, the UNSC reform reference and the DPI repository as matching India's key positions.
• Global South voice. The declaration calls for a more representative UN system and looks forward to stronger BRICS interaction in international parliamentary fora such as the IPU.
• Technology governance. Its points on AI, data privacy and digital sovereignty connect the parliamentary track to the wider BRICS debate on technology.

Issues and criticism

• Non-binding. Parliamentary declarations do not create legal obligations. Their impact depends on what governments and legislatures do next.
• Careful wording on conflicts. On West Asia, the text refers to members' "respective national positions" and does not name any party. This suggests members still differ on the issue.
• Membership question. The PIB backgrounder lists Saudi Arabia among the 11 members, but the declaration's preamble names only 10 member Parliaments. The official texts give no reason for this.
• Delivery gap. Many points, such as the DPI repository and the sport working group, are proposals that still need follow-up action.

Way forward

• Share digital and AI tools between Parliaments, and take forward the DPI repository proposal.
• Use parliamentary diplomacy, including the IPU, to push UN Security Council reform and progress on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
• Make sure the declaration's points are followed up under China's 2027 chairship.

Revise more summit facts with our weekly current affairs quiz and the UPSC Prelims practice tests.

Prelims pointers

• The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum was held in New Delhi on 26–27 October 2026.
• Its theme was "Fostering Parliaments for People-Centric Development".
• It was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and its Joint Declaration was adopted on 27 October 2026.
• The declaration welcomes Paragraph 13 of the 2026 New Delhi Declaration on UN reform.
• It condemns the 22 April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
• It recalls the Jaipur Declaration (2016) of the BRICS Women's Parliamentarians Forum.
• China holds the BRICS Chairship in 2027 and will host the next Forum.
• NeVA stands for National e-Vidhan Application, India's platform for paperless legislatures.

One-liners for SSC, Banking and Railways

• Host of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum (2026): Parliament of India, New Delhi.
• Inaugurated by: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
• BRICS Chairship 2026: India (its fourth); 2027: China.
• 18th BRICS Summit: New Delhi, 12–13 September 2026.
• Theme of India's BRICS Chairship 2026: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.

Mains practice question

Q. "Parliamentary diplomacy complements executive diplomacy in groupings like BRICS." Discuss with reference to the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum held in New Delhi in 2026. (150 words)

Points to cover:

1. What the Forum adopted: support for India's chairship, UNSC reform, counter-terrorism language, and the points on sanctions and West Asia.
2. What Parliaments add: oversight, budgets and laws that put summit commitments into practice; sharing digital tools such as NeVA.
3. Limits: declarations are non-binding, members differ on conflicts, and not every member Parliament is named in the text.
4. Way forward: steady follow-up, coordination in the IPU, and continuity under China's 2027 chairship.