BRICS SUMMIT 2026

India is preparing to host the 18th BRICS summit on September 12–13, 2026, under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability." With the group’s expansion in 2024, incorporating the UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Iran, and Indonesia’s official accession as a full member in 2025, alongside the addition of numerous new partner nations, the diversity of member perspectives regarding issues such as the Middle East, relations with the United States, and the Russia-Ukraine war has grown. Consequently, issue-specific, pragmatic cooperation is emerging as a prominent operational model for the group, moving away from the comprehensive political consensus typical of traditional international and intergovernmental organizations.   Members can now cooperate where their interests align while maintaining divergent stances elsewhere. This suggests that BRICS may be consolidating an alliance-building model that relies less on shared political positions and more on mutual benefit and selective cooperation. This trend is likely to intensify and spread to other cooperative groupings, particularly as political differences persist. Thus, a fundamental question is raised: Can international alliances remain effective in the absence of political consensus, or has selective cooperation become the new foundation for collective action?