UN Chief to Join BRICS Summit in New Delhi

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will participate in the 18th BRICS Summit later this month in New Delhi, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. The announcement came during a press briefing at the United Nations on Tuesday, where 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."

India, as the current chair, will host the summit on September 12-13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs has stated that the summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries as well as outreach invitees.

The summit marks BRICS' 20th anniversary and India's fourth time chairing the group, having previously held the position in 2012, 2016, and 2021. India assumed its fourth chairship on January 1, 2026.

The theme for India's BRICS chairship is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, over 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held in over 25 cities across India to strengthen the BRICS strategic partnership across three fundamental pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Guterres' Travel and Diplomatic Engagements

Guterres, whose second five-year tenure as UN head ends in December 2026, had travelled to India in February this year to attend the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, which was the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.

Prior to the BRICS summit, Guterres attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, held from August 31 to September 1. During that event, he met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the margins of the summit. According to his spokesperson, Guterres expressed concern regarding the devastating humanitarian and economic consequences of the conflict in Iran and the region, stressed the urgent need to resolve the conflict through dialogue and negotiations with full respect for international law, including navigational rights in the Strait of Hormuz, and reaffirmed the UN's commitment to support diplomatic efforts for a comprehensive solution.

One report noted that Guterres did not have a formal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO summit in Bishkek. The same report indicated that for Guterres, this would be his fifth visit to India and second this year.

Expected Attendance and Geopolitical Context

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are among world leaders expected to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is also widely expected to attend the summit before visiting the United States for a meeting with President Donald Trump later this month.

A report from one outlet suggested that the BRICS summit may be Guterres' last chance as Secretary-General to meet Putin and Xi, as they are expected to skip the annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly later this month. The same report described the ten-member BRICS as convening during a fraught period for the world, with conflicts in the Gulf region and Ukraine, and noted that leaders of Gulf adversaries Iran and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be present.