BRICS Summit 2026 (New Delhi) — De-dollarisation & AI Cooperation

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## Overview The 18th BRICS summit was held in New Delhi, with member nations adopting the "New Delhi Declaration 2026" on Saturday, September 12, 2026, unanimously (SCMP, September 12). The summit produced agreements to expand trade and payments in local currencies, marking a further step toward de-dollarisation as the bloc seeks to counter what it characterizes as US pressure (SCMP, September 12). ## Key Developments - Member nations found common ground on artificial intelligence, trade, and alternative payment expansion despite some of the bloc's biggest diplomatic splits (SCMP, September 12). - Chinese President Xi Jinping used his summit address to deliver what SCMP described as a "thinly veiled critique of US policies," calling on members to deepen cooperation in areas including AI (SCMP, September 12). Xi proposed an initiative on "AI-empowered" development (SCMP, September 12). - Xi also urged BRICS to "play its due role" in bringing peace to the Middle East (SCMP, September 12). - On the sidelines, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi — reportedly the highest-level meeting between Iran and the UAE since the Iran war began (SCMP, September 12), occurring amid heightened oil-supply concerns after Saudi Arabia shut its key East-West pipeline following a drone attack (SCMP, September 12). - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the summit and addressed members after a closed session (SCMP, September 12). ## Why It Matters BRICS' coordinated push for local-currency trade and payments represents a continuing structural challenge to dollar dominance, with strategic implications for sanctions enforcement, currency markets, and US financial leverage. The bloc's ability to paper over internal disputes (e.g., India-China tensions) to present unified positions on AI and de-dollarisation signals growing institutional cohesion under external pressure from Washington. ## Entities Involved Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, member states (China, India, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, UAE, others)