On September 12-13, New Delhi will host the 18th BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam. India assumed its fourth BRICS Chairship on 1 January 2026 under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s people-centric vision of ‘Humanity First’. The year is also significant as BRICS completes twenty years since its establishment. Today, the grouping comprises eleven members and ten Partner Countries, representing nearly half of the world’s population and around 40 per cent of global GDP.
India has sought to make its Chairship practical and outcome-oriented. More than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have already been held in over 25 Indian cities across political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people tracks.
The four pillars of Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability have translated into work on health, agriculture and food security, energy, resilient supply chains, startups and MSMEs, Digital Public Infrastructure, artificial intelligence, reform of global governance, renewable energy and climate adaptation. New initiatives include cooperation platforms on agro-inputs and regenerative agriculture, smart grids and energy storage, healthy lifestyles, climate-resilient urban infrastructure, standardisation and logistics supply chains.
For Uganda, this agenda is directly relevant. Uganda has participated in BRICS as a Partner Country since January 2025. Vice President H.E. Jessica Alupo will lead Uganda’s delegation to the New Delhi Summit, which will also include Hon. Mutasingwa Diana Nankunda, Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President. This builds on Uganda’s growing engagement with BRICS. In May, the then Foreign Minister, Gen. Jeje Odongo, participated in the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi and met External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar.
Uganda participates as a Partner Country, rather than a full member, but India’s Chairship has deliberately involved Partner Countries in several key ministerial, parliamentary, business, youth, scientific and cultural tracks. This creates opportunities for Uganda to engage on issues central to its own development agenda: agricultural productivity and value addition, affordable healthcare, energy access, digital transformation, MSMEs, skills, climate resilience, investment and reform of international institutions.
BRICS engagement also fits naturally into the wider India-Uganda relationship. It was in the Parliament of Uganda in July 2018 that Prime Minister Modi articulated India’s ten guiding principles for engagement with Africa, including partnership according to African priorities, local capacity-building, greater trade, digital cooperation, agricultural development and a more representative global order. Those principles remain visible in our bilateral cooperation today-from ITEC training and ICCR scholarships to the National Forensic Sciences University campus in Jinja, healthcare cooperation, defence training, business exchanges and the longstanding contribution of the Indian community in Uganda. BRICS therefore does not replace bilateral cooperation; it adds another platform through which it can be widened.
Importantly, India’s Chairship has also taken BRICS beyond conference rooms. Under its Jan Bhagidari, or public-participation, approach, cultural and people-to-people activities form an important part of the programme. Uganda will have a distinctive presence. At ‘BRICS Symphony – One Rhythm, Many Cultures’, Ugandan musicians Jaffar Ssemwogerere Mudhasi, playing the Amadinda, and Ronald Musisi, playing the Adungu, will join artists from other participating countries. The event will feature a new symphonic poem, ‘BRICS – A Commonwealth of Cultures’, during the Leaders’ Gala Dinner on 12 September.
Ugandan craftsmanship will also be represented at the BRICS Bazaar at the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi from 8-13 September. Sharon Aziku from Arua and Ursula Joan Napeyok from Karamoja will showcase Uganda’s handicrafts and cultural traditions alongside artisans from other BRICS Member and Partner Countries. Their participation gives a human and cultural expression to a grouping often discussed mainly in geopolitical and economic terms.
There is also an important wider African dimension. President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi has been invited to the Summit in his capacity as Chairperson of the African Union and will lead a delegation including Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana. This is particularly meaningful for India. During its G20 Presidency in 2023, India strongly championed the African Union’s admission as a permanent member of the G20. The presence of the AU Chair in New Delhi reinforces India’s belief that Africa must have a stronger voice in global decision-making.
The New Delhi Summit will be judged ultimately by its ability to convert representation into practical outcomes. For Uganda, the opportunity is to use BRICS engagement to deepen investment, technology partnerships, market access, capacity-building and cooperation on development priorities. For India, Uganda is both a valued bilateral partner and an important African voice. The 2026 Summit offers an opportunity to bring these two dimensions together-bilateral trust and wider Global South cooperation-in pursuit of more inclusive growth and a more representative international order.