BRICS adopts New Delhi Declaration, labeling telecom connectivity as essential national infrastructure

The BRICS summit concluded with all five members signing the New Delhi Declaration 2026, a document that positions telecommunications as core national infrastructure essential to peace and economic growth. It endorses interoperable ICT security standards and reflects India’s trusted-sources regime that restricts equipment to government-approved vendors. The declaration calls for global rules on supply-chain security and coordinated action against cybercrime, misinformation, hate speech and deepfakes.

Recognising submarine cable networks as critical, it supports AI-native, energy-efficient networks and urges each country to establish a national branch of the BRICS Institute of Future Networks (BIFN). Additionally, it proposes a digital public-infrastructure (DPI) repository to showcase successful models and facilitate digital transformation across member states. COAI director general S P Kochhar welcomed the alignment of the declaration with Indian operators’ long-held positions.