The 2021 BRICS Summit, hosted by India, was conducted virtually on September 9. The theme for this summit was “BRICS@15: Intra-BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation, and Consensus.” Due to the unprecedented global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, India, as the rotating chair of the BRICS grouping for that year, decided to hold the meetings in a digital format to ensure the health and safety of all participants.

This virtual summit was the 13th annual meeting of the BRICS nations, bringing together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It was a significant occasion as it marked the fifteenth anniversary of BRICS cooperation, which has grown from an informal economic grouping to a comprehensive, multi-dimensional dialogue on various issues ranging from economic collaboration to political and security consultations.

The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, hosted the summit, with the other member nations’ top leaders, including President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China, and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, in attendance. The convening of this summit via digital channels highlighted the flexibility and commitment to maintaining strong inter-BRICS relations despite the constraints of the pandemic.

Key topics of the agenda were the enhancement of BRICS cooperation on health and vaccine research, addressing the economic impacts of the pandemic, the reform of multilateral institutions, furthering cooperation on counter-terrorism, addressing climate change, and promoting people-to-people exchanges. Special emphasis was placed on the BRICS countries’ collective approach to post-pandemic recovery, bolstering global public health systems, and enhancing economic resilience through policy support and reform.

India, reflecting the spirit of its chairship, focused on several priority areas, including technological and digital solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and enhancing cooperation in agriculture, and disaster resilience, reflecting its own development experiences and expertise that could benefit its BRICS partners.

The summit concluded with the adoption of the “New Delhi Declaration,” which laid out the collective vision for future collaboration and outlined a path for practical actions in various focus areas. The declaration addressed the need for strengthening and reforming the multilateral system, ensuring the centrality of the United Nations, and highlighted the BRICS nations’ role in contributing to global health, security, economic growth, and sustainable development.

Overall, the 2021 New Delhi virtual BRICS Summit underlined the organization’s steady evolution into a rich and dynamic forum, capable of discussing and shaping responses to contemporary global challenges, and set the tone for the next decade of intra-BRICS cooperation.