UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi later this month, as India hosts the grouping’s annual meeting under its 2026 chairship. The summit will be held at Bharat Mandapam on September 12 and 13, with leaders from BRICS member and partner countries expected to participate.
Guterres’ participation was indicated by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric during a press briefing on Tuesday, although the UN has not yet made a formal announcement.
Guterres Likely To Meet Modi, Xi, Putin
Responding to a question about possible meetings between Guterres and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dujarric said, “We have yet to officially announce that the secretary-general will participate in the BRICS meeting in New Delhi in about 10 days' time.”
Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among the leaders expected to travel to New Delhi for the summit, while Xi is also widely expected to attend.
Guterres had visited India in February to participate in the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
His participation in the BRICS summit comes in the final months of his second term as UN secretary-general, which ends in December 2026.
India Hosts BRICS Summit Amid Fourth Chairship
India assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on January 1, 2026, having previously chaired the grouping in 2012, 2016 and 2021. BRICS is also marking the 20th anniversary of its formation this year.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries as well as outreach invitees.
India’s theme for its chairship is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”. The MEA said more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been organised across more than 25 Indian cities to strengthen cooperation across the grouping’s political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people pillars.
The BRICS summit will also take place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in West Asia. On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Guterres met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and expressed concern over the humanitarian and economic consequences of the conflict.
The UN chief called for the conflict to be resolved through dialogue and negotiations, with full respect for international law, including navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Guterres also reaffirmed the UN’s support for diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a comprehensive and lasting solution.
