The 140-point Delhi Declaration was adopted unanimously on 12 September, 2026. In order to develop consensus, it avoided the mention of Ukraine war and called for diplomatic solution of West Asian crisis. On Palestine problem, as usual it supported two-State Solution but failed to blame Israel for genocide in Gaza. Some of the important points of this declaration are:
- It was highly critical of unilateral tariff and sanctions imposed by certain countries without naming the US.
- The Declaration also criticized European Union’s Corban Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as protectionist measure. The CBAM effective since 01 January, 2026 imposes extra tariff on goods exported to EU countries if these good led to more emission of Carbon than EU standards in the production process.
- The declaration did not mention the idea of BRICS currency to avoid head on confrontation with US president Trump, who earlier threaten to impose 100 percent tariff on BRICS nations if they created alternative currency. But the Declaration adopted another soft route towards dedollarization (without naming it)- by calling for trade and settlement in local currency and development of BRICS payment system among BRICS members.
- The greater success for India was the resolution on Terrorism, which condemned Pahalgam terror attack, and called for string measures against global terrorism, and for avoiding double standards on this issue.
- Another point for India’s greater interest was the call for reformation of global institutions including the UN Secretary Council, World Bank and IMF. Modi in his speech called for adopted 10-point guidelines on inclusive global governance and adopting a roadmap for reform in the UNSC.
- The greater role and voice of global south in global governance was highlighted. Modi emphasized that the countries of the global south should be rule makers in place of rule takers.
- The issue of freedom of navigation in sea waters and safety of seafarers was also highlighted.
Though India was successful in developing consensus on the declaration, it could not stop BRICS slide towards anti-west direction. The Iranian President called for adopting another currency in place of US dollar, and Putin openly challenges the economic might of G-7 in front of the growing economic heft of the BRICS. The strong criticism of unilateral tariff so Trump, call for trade in local currency and criticism of CBAM will not go well in the Western countries.
Modi, Xi and Putin. Will they herald a new Multilateral world . Image Courtesy: India Today
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