UN Secretary-General to Push for Multipolar World, UNSC Reforms at BRICS Summit
Antonio Guterres is expected to call for changes to global institutions, including the Security Council and Bretton Woods system, to better reflect present-day realities.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 10: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is set to emphasise the importance of multipolarity and advocate reforms to global institutions, including the UN Security Council, when he addresses the BRICS Summit in New Delhi later this week.
Guterres will travel to India on Thursday to participate in the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.
He has been invited to address the open session on September 13, which will focus on the theme, “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth.”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Guterres is expected to point out that the economic, demographic and geopolitical landscape of today is fundamentally different from that of 1945.
The UN chief is also expected to argue that multipolarity could help create greater balance within global systems and institutions. However, he is likely to stress that this would require reforms to multilateral structures, including the Bretton Woods institutions and the Security Council.
Reforming the Security Council has remained a longstanding priority for India and several other countries. They have argued that the composition of the 15-member body does not adequately represent the geopolitical and economic realities of the 21st century.
India has been seeking a permanent seat on the Council as part of its campaign for comprehensive reform of the UN’s principal decision-making body.
During his visit, Guterres is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold bilateral discussions with other leaders and officials attending the summit, Dujarric said.
India is chairing BRICS in 2026. The country, a founding member of the grouping, has previously held the chair in 2012, 2016 and 2021.
India assumed its fourth BRICS chairship on January 1, 2026, as the grouping marked two decades since its establishment.
The New Delhi summit will bring together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees, for discussions on major international and economic issues.
The meeting is expected to address a range of global challenges, including the economic impact of the ongoing crisis in West Asia.
The theme of India’s BRICS chairship is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
Guterres is nearing the end of his second five-year term as UN secretary-general, which concludes in December 2026. His upcoming India visit follows his participation in the India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February.
The AI summit was the first major global gathering on artificial intelligence hosted in the Global South and centred on the principles of “People, Planet, and Progress.”
