At the 18th BRICS Summit, held in New Delhi on September 12-13, the Global South emerged as a central priority, with the grouping positioning developing countries as rule-shapers rather than rule-takers in the evolving international order.

The New Delhi Declaration, along with speeches delivered by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, placed strong emphasis on the aspirations, concerns and growing influence of the Global South. The focus comes at a time when both India and China are seeking to strengthen their leadership and influence across the developing world.

India positioned itself as a consensus-builder seeking to connect the Global South with Western-led institutions such as the G20, while China placed greater emphasis on industrial capacity and the creation of alternative trade and technological platforms.

The New Delhi Declaration highlighted the importance of the Global South as a driver of positive change, particularly amid significant international challenges, including deepening geopolitical tensions, economic downturns, rapid technological change, protectionist measures, migration and climate change.

“BRICS countries will continue playing a pivotal role in voicing the concerns and priorities of the Global South, as well as promoting a more just, sustainable, inclusive, representative and stable international order based on international law,” the declaration said.

The reform of the United Nations Security Council was also prominently featured during the summit. The declaration said the reform of the UN Security Council should lead to an “amplified voice of the Global South.”

Recalling the 2022 Beijing and 2023 Johannesburg-II Leaders’ Declarations, China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, reiterated their support for the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the United Nations, including its Security Council.

The BRICS declaration also echoed the aspirations of Global South countries for greater integration into the multilateral trading system. It expressed strong support for Ethiopia and Iran’s bids to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The document also acknowledged China for expanding its zero-tariff treatment to cover 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his address to the BRICS Summit, said the Global South, through its collective rise, had become a key driver of world multipolarity.

“To bring stability to the world and make it a better place, BRICS countries must seize the historical initiative, rally the Global South, be an active, stabilizing and positive force in international affairs, and advance the well-being of all humanity,” Xi said.

He called on Global South countries to jointly defend the rule of law in international affairs and safeguard the basic norms of international relations, including sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Xi also stressed that international law and international rules should be applied equally to all countries, without double standards. He further called for support for the operation and development of the New Development Bank to facilitate greater cooperation among Global South countries. The international financial architecture, he said, must also be reformed and improved to increase the representation and voice of developing countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, underlined the disparity between the Global South’s exposure to global crises and its role in global decision-making. “The Global South is today in the front row of global crises, but in the back row of decision-making,” Modi said.

He called for a transformation of the existing “pyramid of privilege” into a “platform of partnership”, where every country has a voice, every member has a stake and the advancement of humanity remains at the heart of every endeavour.

Modi said BRICS must work to transform the Global South from rule-takers into rule-shapers. Through BRICS, he said, young diplomats and policymakers from countries of the Global South could be provided with negotiation skills, practical training and legal expertise to strengthen their participation in global decision-making.

“By a happy coincidence, today is the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation,” Modi said, describing the timing as especially significant for a decision focused on the Global South. He added that India was ready to take the lead on the issue. Addressing the BRICS Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin also backed greater representation for countries of the Global South in the UN Security Council.

Putin said that despite attempts by some countries to replace the existing international system with an order based on rules drawn up by “unknown actors”, there was a need for BRICS members and like-minded countries to continue working together to improve the effectiveness of the United Nations.

The process, he stressed, could receive a boost through an expansion of the UN Security Council to include greater representation from Asian, African and Latin American countries.

The emphasis placed by the three major BRICS leaders on the Global South underlines the grouping’s broader effort to give developing countries a stronger voice in global governance. From reform of the UN Security Council and international financial institutions to trade, technology and South-South cooperation, the summit presented the Global South not merely as a bloc seeking greater representation, but as an increasingly important force in shaping the rules of the international system. In the international global platforms, Nepal is advocating for the reform of global governance and financial institutions to ensure the voice and representation of Global South.