BRICS Summit: ‘Changing world cannot be steered by outdated institutions’ – Modi: Live Updates

The New Delhi Declaration provides a “clear direction” for the group and must now be translated into concrete results, Modi said in his closing remarks at the summit.

“Alongside the diversity of our views, our shared commitment to BRICS cooperation has also clearly emerged,” Modi said, arguing that the discussions showed a changing world “cannot be steered by outdated institutions.”

He called for reforms in global representation, responsiveness and rule-making, as well as equal participation for the Global South in developing future technologies and the rules governing them.

BRICS leaders have adopted the New Delhi Declaration, setting out the expanded bloc’s common position on global governance, trade, finance and major international conflicts.

The document calls for a “more representative, fairer international order” and greater Global South influence in global decision-making, including comprehensive UN reform and greater developing-country representation on the Security Council. China and Russia also reiterated support for Brazil and India playing a greater role at the UN.

On the economic front, BRICS voiced “serious concerns” over tariffs and other trade restrictions and condemned unilateral and secondary sanctions not authorized by the UNSC. Members also backed further work on faster, cheaper cross-border payments and greater use of national currencies in trade and investment.

On global conflicts, the declaration emphasizes diplomacy and peaceful settlement of disputes, backs a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, opposes the forced displacement of Palestinians and condemns attacks on civilians and obstruction of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The bloc also backed an expanded role for the New Development Bank, including more local-currency financing, while pledging deeper cooperation on AI, digital infrastructure, trade and investment.

READ MORE: Why India and China are talking again

Modi has spent half a minute straight shaking hands with Xi Jinping while thanking him for attending the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in person, offering a notably warm welcome to the Chinese leader.

The gesture comes against the backdrop of a historically difficult relationship between the two Asian neighbors, marked by a long-running border dispute and years of tensions following deadly clashes in 2020.

India and China have moved to stabilize ties in recent years, with Modi and Xi holding a series of meetings and both sides seeking to rebuild political and economic engagement.

The leaders also joined hands at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion as they posed for a group photo at the summit in New Delhi.

With smiles, clasped hands and arms held high, the bloc put its unity on full display.

BRICS leaders have traded briefing folders for shovels and watering cans in New Delhi, planting banyan trees on the sidelines of the summit.

The banyan is widely associated with longevity, wisdom and strength – a fitting bit of symbolism for a group marking 20 years since its creation.

India has given Friday’s meeting between Putin and Modi a distinctly Russian soundtrack.

Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, India’s minister of state for heavy industries and steel, shared footage of the two leaders’ talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit set to ‘Matushka-Zemlya’ (Mother Earth) – a patriotic song that has become widely popular in Russia in recent years.

A little musical diplomacy, New Delhi style.

The BRICS Summit has demonstrated the bloc’s potential to deepen cooperation and help reshape global governance, Putin said.

“The summit confirms that we have great potential to work together, to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, to make global governance more effective, and to ensure true multilateral cooperation and equity in global affairs,” he told fellow leaders in New Delhi.

Putin said reforming the IMF, World Bank, and WTO will not be enough to keep pace with the changing global economy.

He noted that emerging fields such as fintech, digital commerce, and the platform economy require new mechanisms.

“There are breakthrough areas… which require separate institutions, rules, and regulations,” he said, adding that BRICS countries have already begun work in this direction.

Global financial institutions must be overhauled to reflect the shift in economic activity toward emerging markets, Putin said.

He noted that the IMF, World Bank, and World Trade Organization were created under “different political and economic realities” and are struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Nevertheless, he called for stronger BRICS cooperation with them as important platforms for “dialogue between the leading economies of the world.”

The unipolar system of international relations is fading as global influence shifts toward new centers of growth, Putin stated.

He accused countries with a “colonial mindset” of resisting the shift through sanctions, tariff wars, “blackmail,” interference in domestic affairs and “blunt force.”

He called for strengthening the UN’s central role, arguing that its charter remains the “key source of international law” despite attempts by some states to replace it with a “rules-based world order.”

“No one knows what these rules are,” Putin said, also backing an expansion of the UN Security Council to include greater representation for African, Latin American and Asian nations.