New Delhi, May 14, 2026 — Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from the expanded BRICS grouping began assembling in New Delhi for a two-day BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting hosted under India’s 2026 chairship. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will chair the sessions, which open against heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
Key attendees include Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. China is being represented by Ambassador to India Xu Feihong, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi is unable to attend due to prior commitments. Delegations from South Africa, Ethiopia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have also arrived for the ministerial engagement.
A Reuters photo at the venue, Bharat Mandapam, showed ministers and senior envoys including Xu Feihong, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono, Araghchi, South Africa’s Ronald Lamola, Lavrov, Jaishankar, Mauro Vieira, Badr Abdelatty, Ethiopia’s Gedion Timothewos and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar.
Partner countries invited for outreach sessions are represented by senior officials: Kazakhstan sent First Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev and Nigeria sent Dunoma Umar Ahmed, Permanent Secretary at its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some official confirmations from other capitals were still awaited.
Agenda items include the ongoing conflict in West Asia, reform of multilateral institutions, economic cooperation, and the priorities set under India’s BRICS presidency theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” The ministerial programme will feature BRICS-only sessions, interactions with partner countries and a joint engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
