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Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa P Lazaro arrived at the airport in New Delhi on Thursday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, 2026.
Upon her arrival, the Foreign Secretary was warmly received by senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Her visit comes as New Delhi will host the BRICS Summit for the fourth time from September 12-13. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. Upon his arrival, Putin was welcomed by Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira arrived in New Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs announced Vieira's arrival, who represents Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the summit, as the latter remains in Brazil for his election campaign. Indias Chairship of the 18th BRICS Summit is guided by the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability, deploying a human-centric approach across its core pillars to reinforce institutional strength and support sustainable growth. The upcoming New Delhi summit follows the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6-7, 2025, under Brazils chairship, which focused on Global South cooperation, inclusive governance, global health, climate action, artificial intelligence governance, trade, and financial mechanism efficiency during the first high-level assembly of the broadened grouping. For India, the 2026 chairship marks its fourth tenure heading BRICS, following previous terms in 2012, 2016, and 2021. India last held the chair in 2021, hosting the 13th BRICS Summit virtually on September 9 under the theme BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus. During the 2021 chairship, New Delhi organised over 150 ministerial and sector-specific events focused on reforming the multilateral system, strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation, deploying digital tools for the Sustainable Development Goals, and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. These priorities were enshrined in the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 13th summit. Carrying forward this legacy, India's 2026 presidency bridges established reform goals with expanded priorities, placing resilience, innovation, and sustainability at the heart of the bloc's collective agenda as leaders convene in New Delhi to assess the group's evolving global role and chart the path forward. (ANI)
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