Why ASEAN AU GCC And BIMSTEC Were Invited To BRICS Summit 2026

India has explained the thinking behind the selection of outreach countries for the BRICS Summit 2026. MEA Secretary Sudhakar Dalela said a key focus of the summit was to make BRICS outcomes and deliverables relevant to the wider Global South. In that spirit, India invited chairs of major developing-country groupings from different regions, including ASEAN, the African Union, CELAC, the Gulf Cooperation Council and BIMSTEC. Dalela said the idea was to reach out across continents and share what BRICS is doing, while bringing more developing economies into the conversation. He added that the BIMSTEC Chair was also invited. The outreach reflects India’s broader push to widen participation and connect the BRICS agenda with priorities of emerging and developing countries.