12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum Ends With Joint Declaration

The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum came to a close in New Delhi after member parliaments agreed on a Joint Declaration by consensus. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who had opened the two-day gathering a day earlier, delivered the valedictory address at the historic Constitution House of the Parliament of India.

Theme and focus

The Forum was held on the theme "Fostering Parliaments for People-Centric Development". Over two days the delegates took up people-centric development, the strength of democratic institutions, cooperation between legislatures, and the responsible use of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence. Resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability ran through the sessions as well.

What the Joint Declaration says

• It restates the commitment of member nations to the principles of the United Nations Charter, to sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
• It reaffirms the consensus of the New Delhi Declaration (NDD) and endorses reform of the UN Security Council, citing Paragraph 13 of that declaration, so that global governance better reflects the Global South.
• Building on Paragraph 40 of the New Delhi Declaration, it condemns cross-border terrorism, the financing of terror and safe havens for terrorists, and asks for zero tolerance and an end to double standards.
• It carries India-led development and climate priorities: wider Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) repositories, ethical governance of Artificial Intelligence, and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR-RC).
• Members gave unanimous support to India’s BRICS Chairship.

What the Speaker said

Mr Birla argued that lasting answers to global problems are found in dialogue rather than war, in peace rather than conflict, and in collaboration rather than competition. He noted that the participating countries differ in background and circumstance, yet their shared concern for the welfare of humanity is what gives BRICS its strength. Global peace, he said, means security, respect, justice and the promise of a better future, above all for the young.

He also described parliaments as centres of dialogue, consensus, accountability and public trust rather than mere law-making chambers, and urged legislatures to become more transparent and citizen-centric. Artificial Intelligence and digital tools, he added, can sharpen parliamentary work and widen citizen participation so long as they stay tied to human values, ethics, transparency and accountability.

Handover to China

At the close, the Lok Sabha Speaker handed the chairship of the BRICS Parliamentary Forum to China, which takes the BRICS chair for the year 2027, and wished it well.