UN Chief Antonio Guterres arrives in New Delhi to attend 18th BRICS Summit

New Delhi: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit set to be held over the weekend.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that Guterres' visit to New Delhi reaffirms the shared commitment of BRICS partners to multilateralism and constructive dialogue in promoting peace, development and international cooperation. This is Guterres's fifth visit to India and his second this year after participating in the AI Action Summit in Delhi in February.

"Warm welcome to Secretary-General of UN, Mr. Antonio Guterres at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. He was received by MoS Sukanta Majumdar at the airport. The visit reaffirms the shared commitment of BRICS partners to multilateralism and constructive dialogue in promoting peace, development and international cooperation," the MEA posted on X.

As BRICS chair in 2026, India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13, bringing together leaders of BRICS members, partner countries and outreach invitees.

BRICS comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS partner countries are: Belarus, Cuba, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Guterres will attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi with a message of support for the group that reflects the changed multipolar realities of today's world, according to UN Chief spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Guterres is "expected to note that today's economic, demographic, and geopolitical realities are not those of 1945, and that countries represented at the summits speak for that changing reality" when he speaks at the summit on Sunday, he said on Wednesday (local time).

The present global political and economic systems, said Dujarric, are locked in the post-World War II framework created in 1945, when many international institutions were created.

In his speech on "Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth", Guterres is "expected to underscore that multipolarity can help bring balance to global systems and institutions", Dujarric said.

"But this requires forming multilateral institutions, reforming multilateral institutions, including the Bretton Woods system, the Security Council, among others, to reflect today's realities", he is expected to say.

The Bretton Woods system serves as the foundation of the global monetary system and underpins the International Monetary Fund that was created under it, and other global financial organisations.

As the chair of the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability' as the meeting's theme.

Guterres will also be holding a bilateral meeting with PM Modi and other leaders at the summit of the 10-member BRICS.

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