NEW DELHI, October 26 — Lawmakers from BRICS member states opened the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi on Monday, with the bloc’s largest economies using the gathering to press for a reshaped, multipolar global order and closer coordination on emerging technologies.
Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, attending his first foreign engagement since taking the speaker’s post, told the plenary that countries with different political systems and economic models should unite behind a multipolar architecture that respects each nation’s sovereign right to choose its own development path. In a notable procedural proposal, he floated the creation of a BRICS expert council on artificial intelligence — a standing body of specialists tasked with sharing legislative best practices and, in his words, ensuring that artificial intelligence “serves people” rather than controls them.
Volodin separately held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and conveyed greetings from President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow describing the India-Russia relationship as a privileged strategic partnership rooted in decades of friendship and mutual benefit. Forum organizers said the two-day meeting is expected to close with a joint statement outlining priorities for legislative cooperation across the expanded membership.
Together, BRICS economies now account for roughly 40 percent of global gross domestic product and nearly a quarter of world exports, with intra-bloc trade reaching an estimated 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars. Analysts note the parliamentary track has gained weight as member states seek to hedge diplomatic distance at the executive level and build alternative institutions parallel to Western-led frameworks.
The forum comes as the grouping faces mounting questions over cohesion following its recent expansion, with observers watching whether new institutional mechanisms translate into concrete policy coordination rather than aspirational statements.