The 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum concluded on 12 June 2026 at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in New Delhi, with member nations adopting a Ministerial Declaration on inclusive, resilient and people-centred urban development. Hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under India’s BRICS Chairship for 2026, the two-day forum brought together ministerial delegations from ten BRICS member countries under the theme “Cities for People: BRICS Cooperation for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Futures”. The forum also saw India propose a BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network, a mechanism designed to sustain peer-to-peer urban cooperation beyond any single chairship.
BRICS Urbanisation Forum: Background and Evolution
The BRICS Urbanisation Forum was established as a dedicated ministerial platform for member countries to exchange urban policy experience and identify shared priorities. India played a foundational role in shaping this agenda. It hosted the first-ever BRICS Urbanisation Forum in New Delhi in 2013, which formally placed urbanisation on the BRICS cooperation agenda for the first time. India subsequently hosted the forum in Visakhapatnam in 2016, with a focus on sustainable urban development, smart cities and urban resilience, and again in virtual format in 2021, concentrating on urban recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the 2026 edition, India has now hosted the forum four times, more than any other member nation. The forum has evolved alongside the grouping itself. BRICS, originally formed in 2009 with four members (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and joined by South Africa in 2010, expanded significantly in January 2024 to admit Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia became a full member in January 2025. The expanded bloc of 11 members now accounts for roughly 37% of global GDP and over half the world’s population, making cooperation on shared urban challenges an increasingly critical agenda item.
Key Outcomes of the 13th Forum
The forum produced three significant outcomes: a binding political declaration, a proposal for an institutional knowledge network, and two knowledge publications.
Adoption of the Ministerial Declaration
The Ministerial Declaration was the central outcome of the forum. It reaffirms the shared commitment of BRICS nations to advancing people-centred urban development and outlines key priorities agreed upon by all member countries. The declaration emphasises the need to create inclusive, sustainable, resilient and liveable cities that ensure equitable access to urban services, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable groups. It calls for integrating climate considerations into all aspects of urban planning, infrastructure development, housing, land use, mobility and service delivery systems.
Proposal for BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network
India proposed the establishment of a BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network, which member nations welcomed. This network is designed as a chair-led, institutionally connected mechanism for applied urban research, knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning among BRICS countries.
The network will operate through a virtual, low-cost and flexible model. It will be coordinated each year by the lead institution of the BRICS Chair country, with activities and outputs handed over to the next Chairship. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between policy and implementation by enabling the exchange of practical solutions, city-level experiences and operational lessons across member states.
Two Publications Released
Two publications were showcased during the forum. The first, “India’s Urban Transformation: Stories of Change”, was released by Union Minister Manohar Lal. It presents selected urban practices and experiences from India’s states and Union Territories across the four priority areas of the forum. The second, “Cities for People: Urban Stories from BRICS Nations”, compiles best practices and innovative approaches adopted across BRICS cities, offering a collective repository of urban solutions from the Global South.
Four Priority Areas for Urban Cooperation
The forum structured its deliberations around four interconnected priority areas that reflect the most pressing urban challenges facing BRICS nations.
Inclusive Urban Development: Member countries shared experiences on affordable housing programmes, slum upgrading, water security and solid waste management. Discussions emphasised ensuring that urban growth benefits all sections of society, particularly the urban poor and marginalised communities.
Climate and Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure: Delegates identified climate resilience as a critical urban priority. Cities across BRICS nations face intensifying threats from extreme heat, urban flooding, water scarcity, air pollution and coastal risks. The forum called for integrating climate adaptation into urban planning, infrastructure design and service delivery systems.
Strengthening Municipal Institutions: The forum recognised that robust local governments are essential for effective urban governance. Discussions covered municipal finance, land management, urban renewal and institutional capacity building. Several countries presented their experiences with municipal reform and fiscal decentralisation.
Digital Innovation for Urban Governance: Technology emerged as a cross-cutting enabler. Member nations discussed the use of digital tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), smart grids and Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC) for efficient service delivery, better planning and citizen engagement.
India’s Urban Transformation on Display
Beyond the formal deliberations, the forum provided participating delegations with a first-hand look at India’s urban transformation. Delegates undertook a curated field visit to select urban interventions in and around New Delhi, including the New Parliament Complex and the India Gate-Kartavya Path precinct, showcasing India’s approach to integrating heritage, public space and modern infrastructure.
The forum also served as a platform for bilateral cooperation. On the sidelines, India held a bilateral meeting with the Russian Federation, co-chaired by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Yury Mutsenek. The two sides reviewed progress on a proposed Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Urban Development covering urban planning, affordable housing, municipal infrastructure and sustainable construction technologies. Additional bilateral discussions were held between Iran and Russia, Iran and China, and Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Significance for India’s BRICS Chairship
The Urbanisation Forum was one of the first major ministerial-level events under India’s BRICS Chairship for 2026. India assumed the chairship in January 2026 with the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Humanity First”. The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled for September 2026 in New Delhi.
The success of the Urbanisation Forum reinforces urban development as an important pillar of BRICS cooperation. For India, hosting this forum for the fourth time demonstrates its consistent leadership in shaping the Global South’s urban agenda. The country’s experience with large-scale urban missions such as the Smart Cities Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban, AMRUT and the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban provides a rich repository of implementable solutions that are relevant to other emerging economies facing similar challenges of rapid urbanisation.
The establishment of the BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network, if implemented effectively, could become a lasting institutional legacy of India’s chairship, ensuring that knowledge sharing on urban development continues beyond 2026.
Key Takeaways
- The 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum was held on 11-12 June 2026 at Sushma Swaraj Bhavan, New Delhi, under India’s BRICS Chairship.
- Member nations adopted a Ministerial Declaration reaffirming commitment to inclusive, resilient, sustainable and people-centred urban development.
- India proposed the BRICS Urban Research and Knowledge Network, a chair-led virtual mechanism for applied urban research and peer-to-peer learning among member states.
- Two publications were released: “India’s Urban Transformation: Stories of Change” and “Cities for People: Urban Stories from BRICS Nations”.
- The forum focused on four priority areas: inclusive urban development, climate-resilient infrastructure, municipal institutional strengthening and digital innovation in urban governance.
- India has now hosted the BRICS Urbanisation Forum four times (2013, 2016, 2021 and 2026), more than any other member country.
- BRICS currently has 11 full members after the expansion that admitted Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE and Indonesia.
