BRICS gives cities a bigger role in its New Delhi agenda

BRICS leaders have given urban transport, infrastructure resilience and essential city services a more defined place in the group’s cooperation agenda, while stopping short of creating a binding city program or dedicated urban fund.

The BRICS New Delhi Declaration was issued September 12, 2026, after the summit held September 12-13 in New Delhi, India. It welcomes the establishment of a BRICS Urban Mobility Hub for knowledge exchange and cooperation on accessible, affordable, inclusive and smart urban transport.

For cities, the immediate change is institutional rather than financial. The declaration gives political backing to shared research, policy comparison and cooperation on transport and infrastructure, but leaves implementation details to later work.

What leaders endorsed

The declaration welcomes the BRICS Urbanisation Forum and reaffirms cooperation on adequate, safe and affordable housing, water and sanitation, sustainable mobility, harmonised and efficient mobility, waste management and other essential urban services.

It also commends the BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network as a platform for applied research, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building to support resilient and sustainable urban development. India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs described the network as a chairship-led, institutionally connected, virtual and low-cost platform coordinated by the lead institution of each BRICS chair country.

The leaders also welcomed the BRICS Voluntary Principles for Climate-Resilient Urban Infrastructure. The principles were presented alongside broader BRICS work on disaster-risk reduction, early-warning data and infrastructure resilience.

The language matters. The declaration says leaders “welcomed,” “commended” and “reaffirmed” cooperation, and describes the infrastructure principles as voluntary. Those terms do not create treaty obligations or require cities to adopt a common standard.

How the agenda developed

The September declaration builds on work conducted during India’s 2026 BRICS chairship. At the June 12 Urbanisation Forum, member nations considered and welcomed India’s proposal for the Urban Research and Knowledge Network. The ministry said the network was intended to support peer learning, applied research and the exchange of practical city-level experience.

Transport ministers had already identified the Urban Mobility Hub as a cooperation priority at their July 11 meeting in Nagpur, Maharashtra. India’s transport ministry said the meeting produced a framework covering urban mobility, transport decarbonisation, logistics cooperation and related areas.

That sequence shows the summit language consolidating work developed through ministerial and expert tracks rather than creating a fully operational city program overnight.

Why the practical stakes are local

The potential value is straightforward: city agencies could compare approaches to transit access, affordability, traffic management, disaster preparedness, housing, sanitation and waste services without each government having to develop every solution alone.

The issue is visible in the summit’s host city. The Associated Press reported that road closures, checkpoints and traffic restrictions in New Delhi disrupted commutes for office workers, delivery drivers and daily wage earners before the leaders’ meeting. That disruption does not show whether the new BRICS mechanisms will work, but it illustrates why mobility governance has direct consequences for residents and workers.

What remains undefined

The declaration does not announce a dedicated BRICS-wide urban fund, a project list, binding targets, an implementation timetable or mandatory participation by municipalities. It also does not specify which cities, metropolitan governments, private operators or civil-society groups will take part.

The New Development Bank provides relevant financing context. Its published transport material says the bank supports urban metro and rapid-transit systems, railways, roads and other infrastructure, including climate-smart and resilient transport. That existing portfolio does not establish a new mandate or financing commitment for the Urban Mobility Hub or the climate-resilience principles.

The next meaningful test will be whether BRICS publishes a work plan, names participating institutions, sets measurable outputs, identifies pilot projects or links the mechanisms to financing decisions under the next chairship. Until then, the New Delhi declaration is best understood as a political endorsement of cooperation and knowledge-sharing—not a guaranteed source of funding or construction for cities.

Sources

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