12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, New Delhi

GS Paper: GS-II (International Relations: Groupings, India's Foreign Policy, Parliament) | Source: IE

Why in News?

The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum was held in New Delhi on 26-27 October 2026 under the theme "Fostering Parliaments for People-Centric Development". It ended with the adoption of a Joint Declaration on parliamentary cooperation, global governance reform, counter-terrorism and sustainable development. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated and chaired the forum, held at Samvidhan Sadan (the old Parliament building). It is part of India's 2026 BRICS Chairship, with the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".

Key Outcomes of the New Delhi Joint Declaration

•       Global governance: explicit backing for UN Security Council reform to be more representative, effective and inclusive of the Global South.

•       Counter-terrorism: strong language against cross-border terrorism, terror financing and safe havens, condemning the April 2025 Pahalgam attack and reaffirming zero tolerance (seen as a diplomatic gain for India).

•       Digital and AI: explore a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) repository; ethical and accountable AI governance with human oversight.

•       Climate and sustainability: adherence to CBDR-RC and the Paris Agreement, with a just transition that reflects national circumstances.

•       Sanctions: condemnation of unilateral and secondary sanctions as contrary to international law and harmful to the right to development and food security.

Participation and Other BRICS Engagements

•       The forum saw participation from the member nations (Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the UAE) and invited partner countries. The Chairship passed to China, which will host the 13th forum in 2027.

•       Other events under India's chairship: the BRICS Theatre Festival ("Shared Stories, Shared Futures", Ministry of Culture with the National School of Drama), the BRICS Business Forum, and the 2nd BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting in Mumbai, co-chaired by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and DEA Secretary Anuradha Thakur. A centralised digital platform, the BNKP, was launched to share best practices from across BRICS working groups, with NDB President Dilma Rousseff present.

Strategic Significance and Analysis

•       Gives India a platform as a bridge between the Global South and the established order and reinforces its UNSC reform and counter-terrorism positions.

•       Parliamentary diplomacy converts executive-level summit commitments into laws, budgets and accountability at home.

•       Limits: declarations are non-binding; BRICS has internal differences (for example China-India tensions, and members with differing views on UNSC reform) and some wording on terrorism or sanctions may not translate into concrete action. The expanded group also makes consensus harder.

•       Note: the source text first expands BRICS as five countries and later lists ten members. The ten-member list reflects the expanded group.

 BRICS Background

•       Origin: the term BRIC was coined in 2001 by Jim O'Neill; the first summit was in 2009; South Africa joined in 2010. Expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE joined in January 2024 and Indonesia in 2025; a partner country category was created at Kazan (2024). Saudi Arabia's status has remained unclear, so verify membership before quoting numbers.

•       Institutions: the New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai (2015), and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Dilma Rousseff has been NDB President since 2023.

•       Chair rotation: India chaired in 2016 and 2021, and holds the chair again in 2026. The BRICS Parliamentary Forum began in 2015.

•       India's priorities: UNSC reform, counter-terrorism, development finance reform, DPI and the Global South, plus a stance against dedollarisation language. Verify the 18th summit details separately.

•       Related: the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Samvidhan Sadan (the old Parliament building renamed after the new Parliament building opened in 2023), SCO, G20 and G77.