International

India hosted the eighteenth summit in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026, and the declaration adopted there carries the city's name

The nineteenth summit is to be held in China

Building, Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability give the letters of BRICS, which is how the theme was chosen and the easiest way to hold it

The grouping's name itself came from the initials of its founding members, so a theme built the same way is a deliberate echo

The declaration names three pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people

The structure predates the expansion and is restated in the declaration as the framework for the enlarged grouping

The 26th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, from 31 August to 1 September 2026.

The year was SCO's 25th anniversary, so it was the 26th summit in the 25th year.

Besides the Bishkek Declaration, four MoUs and over twenty decisions and statements were adopted.

The Prime Minister said India would host the first edition of the SCO Civilisation Dialogue Forum later in the year.

The Bishkek Declaration also took up other items India had put forward: English in the SCO Charter as an official language, a Young Scientist Forum and a Young Author's Conclave.

The list of outcomes opens by elevating the India-Uzbekistan Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

So a Strategic Partnership is what the relationship already was, not what it became.

The outcomes list conservation and restoration of the ancient Buddhist sites of Fayaz Tepa and Kara Tepa, in Termez, Uzbekistan.

Samarkand appears in the same list for another reason: a cooperation agreement between the Gujarat state and the Samarkand region.

Other outcomes include a US$ 1 million grant for afforestation in the Aral Sea region, and a link that lets Indian UPI apps scan Uzbekistan's national QR code, UZQR.

Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted the first G20 summit in Africa.

Asia and South America had hosted earlier summits — New Delhi in 2023, Rio de Janeiro in 2024.

The proposal is to build a pool of one million certified trainers who would skill young people in Africa.

Training trainers is what makes it a 'multiplier': each trainer reaches many learners.

India proposed a knowledge repository, a healthcare response team, a satellite-data partnership and an Africa skills programme, among six ideas.

No common currency was proposed.

President Putin's visit was for the 23rd Annual Summit.

25 is the anniversary of the 2000 strategic partnership declaration, not the summit count.

It was signed in October 2000, during President Putin's first State visit to India.

1971 is the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation; 2010 is when the partnership became 'Special and Privileged'.

The leaders agreed an Economic Cooperation Programme until 2030.

It aims to make trade and investment more diversified and balanced.

The conclusion was announced at the 16th India–EU Summit in New Delhi on 27 January 2026.

23rd was the India–Russia summit of December 2025.

Over 99 per cent of Indian exports by trade value gain preferential access.

25 per cent is the two economies' combined share of global GDP.

Sensitive agricultural products and dairy were given no market access.

Autos were liberalised in a calibrated way, and textiles are among the biggest gainers.

Negotiations were relaunched in 2022.

They had first begun in 2007 and stalled in 2013, which is why both years appear here.

The summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact.

Bletchley (2023), Seoul (2024) and Paris (2025) were the earlier summits in the series.

The Declaration was endorsed by 92 countries and international organisations.

193 is the UN's membership, not the number of endorsers.

The Declaration is guided by 'Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya' — welfare for all, happiness for all.

'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' was the theme of India's G20 presidency in 2023.

The Declaration rests on seven pillars, or chakras, of action.

They run from democratising AI resources to resilient, efficient and innovative AI systems.

Pax Silica aims to secure the 'silicon stack', from critical minerals and semiconductor fabrication to AI deployment.

India signed on during the AI Impact Summit, deepening technology ties with the United States.

The government described joining Pax Silica as deepening strategic technology cooperation with the United States.

The signing ceremony brought together senior leaders of both countries.

The MoU provides for potential ADNOC storage of up to 30 million barrels in India's reserves.

8 is the supercomputing cluster's size, in exaflops.

The cluster is to be set up at Vadinar in Gujarat.

Chandikol and Fujairah appear in the same visit, for oil reserves.

C-DAC of India and G42 of the UAE signed the term sheet.

C-DAC built India's PARAM supercomputers.

India and the Netherlands raised ties to a Strategic Partnership for 2026–2030.

The Dutch Prime Minister at the time was Rob Jetten.

The plates record the grant of Anaimangalam village to a Buddhist vihara at Nagapattinam.

They show Chola kings patronising a Buddhist monastery as well as Hindu temples.

The charters are in Tamil and Sanskrit.

Chola royal grants typically paired a Sanskrit preamble with the operative grant in Tamil.

The leaders launched restoration and conservation work at Prambanan, in Yogyakarta.

Prambanan is a 9th-century Hindu temple complex; Borobudur, nearby, is Buddhist.

President Prabowo Subianto invited him; Prabowo had been Republic Day chief guest in 2025.

Speaker Puan Maharani invited him to address Parliament; Anwar Ibrahim is Malaysia's Prime Minister.

The CAD 2.6 billion agreement is for the long-term supply of uranium.

India also said it intends to source LNG from Canada, but that was not this agreement.

Mark Carney made his first visit to India as Prime Minister.

It was the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister since 2018.

They adopted 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', or One Earth, One Family, One Future.

They also launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

The 2026 summit was held at Evian in France.

Kananaskis hosted in 2025, Apulia in 2024 and Hiroshima in 2023.

India is not a G7 member; it is invited to the outreach sessions.

The G7 members are the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.

They reaffirmed the aim of concluding CEPA negotiations in 2026.

The uranium supply deal had already been concluded in March.

Bart De Wever is the Prime Minister of Belgium.

It was his first visit to India since taking office in February 2025.

More than 9,000 Indian soldiers died in Flanders Fields in the First World War.

Flanders is in Belgium; Normandy is a Second World War site in France.

It was held in Brussels on 15 July 2026, co-chaired by the two foreign ministers.

2027 will mark 80 years of India–Belgium diplomatic relations.

MERCOSUR was founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Uruguay held the bloc's pro tempore presidency when the new talks were launched.

The India–MERCOSUR agreement is a Preferential Trade Agreement, in force since 2009.

A PTA cuts duties on a limited list of goods; a free trade agreement covers most trade.

Yudh Abhyas is the India–US army exercise; its 22nd edition was held in 2026.

India's army exercise with Mongolia is Nomadic Elephant.

Auli is in Uttarakhand; the other venue, the Mahajan Field Firing Range, is in Rajasthan.

The exercise trained for mountainous and semi-mountainous terrain.

It enters into force on 20 October 2026.

27 April 2026 is when it was signed; 16 September when New Zealand's Parliament passed the law.

It was signed at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, by Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay.

Wellington is New Zealand's capital; Auckland its largest city.

Nomadic Elephant is the India–Mongolia exercise; the 2026 edition was at Pithoragarh.

India's exercise with Kazakhstan is KAZIND.

The African Union, representing 55 countries, was admitted as a permanent member.

The European Union was already a member.

The theme was 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

'Recover Together, Recover Stronger' was Indonesia's theme in 2022.

It was launched on 9 September 2023 at the New Delhi G20 Summit, as an initiative of India's presidency.

The International Solar Alliance was launched at COP21 in Paris.

Iran was granted full membership at the virtual summit of 4 July 2023.

Belarus and Mongolia attended as observer states; Belarus joined as a member in 2024.

India's population was expected to pass mainland China's by the end of April 2023.

The UN put it at about 1,425.8 million.

EFTA's members are Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

Sweden is a member of the European Union.

The EFTA states made a binding commitment to raise FDI in India by US$100 billion in 15 years.

It also aims at one million direct jobs.

The Quad Cancer Moonshot is a partnership to combat cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific.

It was announced at the Wilmington summit.

The 16th BRICS Summit was held at Kazan under Russia's chairship.

The 15th was at Johannesburg (2023); the first BRIC summit was at Yekaterinburg (2009).

CETA gives duty-free access to 99 per cent of India's exports to the UK.

It was signed in London on 24 July 2025.

Sarnath is in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; the Buddha gave his first sermon there.

Bodh Gaya, in Gaya district, is where the Mahabodhi Temple stands.

Sarnath was inscribed as India's 45th property, at the 48th session in Busan.

The Moidams (2024) were the 43rd and the Maratha Military Landscapes (2025) the 44th.

The Channakeshava temple at Belur, the Hoysaleshvara at Halebidu and the Keshava at Somanathapura, all 13th-century and in Karnataka.

They became India's 42nd World Heritage site on 18 September 2023.

Santiniketan is in West Bengal; it became India's 41st World Heritage site.

It is associated with Rabindranath Tagore, who began turning the ashram into a school in 1901.

The Tai-Ahom built the Moidams at Charaideo, Assam, from the 13th to the 19th century.

They became India's 43rd World Heritage site on 26 July 2024.

The 46th session met at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi — the first India had hosted.

The 45th was in Riyadh (2023) and the 47th in Paris (2025).

Prime Minister Modi co-chaired the summit with President Macron.

India announced it would host the next AI summit.

Twelve: eleven in Maharashtra and Gingee in Tamil Nadu.

They became India's 44th World Heritage property on 11 July 2025.

Gingee is the one fort outside Maharashtra.

Sindhudurg and Panhala are in Maharashtra; Vellore is not part of the site.

AIME-2026 began at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 28 September, with INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish.

It is the second edition of the exercise between the Indian Navy and ASEAN's maritime forces.

ASEAN's secretariat is in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Bangkok is where ASEAN was founded, by the Bangkok Declaration of 1967.

The 15th Congress was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Kyoto hosted the 14th, in 2021, and Doha the 13th, in 2015; Vienna is the seat of UNODC.

The new laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, all of 2023.

On 1 July 2024 they replaced the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.

The US hosted the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee in October 2026 under its Presidency.

South Africa held the Presidency in 2025, Brazil in 2024 and India in 2023.

It opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 1 October 2026.

India was represented by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

The 153rd IPU Assembly met in Arusha, Tanzania, from 5 to 9 October 2026.

Geneva is the IPU's headquarters, where some of its assemblies are held.

It was signed on 10 March 2024 and came into force on 1 October 2025.

EFTA's members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, whose President visited India in October 2026.

Guy Parmelin is President of the Swiss Confederation.

President Droupadi Murmu hosted him at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 5 October 2026.

NW-2 is the Brahmaputra from Sadiya to Dhubri, 891 km.

NW-1 is the Ganga–Bhagirathi–Hooghly, from Prayagraj to Haldia.

Bogibeel Terminal is at Dibrugarh, in upper Assam.

Dhubri, near the Bangladesh border, also got a new customs and immigration post.

Mountain Guardian 2026 is an India–UAE exercise focused on mountain warfare.

It ran from 5 to 18 October 2026, with 92 personnel drawn equally from both armies.

Its title is 'The Promise of Artificial Intelligence'.

The World Development Report is the World Bank's flagship report; the UNDP publishes the Human Development Report.

Tarang Shakti 2026 ran at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 26 September to 12 October 2026.

Seven air forces took part, with 32 nations observing.

KONKAN is the India–UK naval exercise; INS Trishul took part in KONKAN-26 with the Royal Navy.

With Russia the Navy holds INDRA, and with France, Varuna.

INS Sahyadri reached Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific coast, on 10 October 2026.

INDRA 2026, the India–Russia naval exercise, was scheduled for 13–18 October.