Multilateral summits usually look the same. Leaders pose for family photos, sign pre-drafted joint statements, and speak in diplomatic platitudes that mean very little. But the real work almost always happens behind closed doors, away from the main stage.
That's exactly what played out in New Delhi during the 16th BRICS National Security Advisers Meeting.
While the official agenda focused heavily on non-traditional security challenges and the impact of new technologies on global threats, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval spent his time running a masterclass in bilateral diplomacy. On June 22, 2026, Doval held a flurry of quiet, high-stakes meetings with senior security officials from Brazil, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
These weren't just polite drop-ins. They were calculated moves by New Delhi to cement its position as the practical bridge between an expanding BRICS bloc and the Global South.
Shifting global alignments push India to look beyond traditional partnerships
The context matters here. BRICS isn't the small club of five emerging economies it used to be. With the inclusion of nations like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia, the group now represents roughly 40% of global GDP and nearly half of the world's population. Hosting this expanded security conclave as the 2026 BRICS chair gives India a massive diplomatic lever.
But managing an 11-member bloc that includes both China and Russia alongside major Middle Eastern and African powers requires a delicate touch. You can't just rely on big floor speeches. You have to build consensus one room at a time.
Doval's bilateral marathon targeted three distinct geopolitical anchors across three continents.
Dealing with Brazil on multilateral coordination
First up was Carlos Cozendey, Brazil's Secretary of Multilateral and Political Affairs. India and Brazil share a specific kind of frustration with the current global order. Both want permanent seats on the UN Security Council, and both prefer a multipolar world where Washington or Beijing don't call all the shots.
Doval and Cozendey focused heavily on sharpening their coordination within the BRICS framework. When major economic powers inside the bloc try to push a specific political agenda, India and Brazil often act as the stabilizing, non-aligned counterweights. They reviewed the entire spectrum of India-Brazil ties, ensuring their intelligence and security agencies stay aligned on maritime security and transatlantic data flows.
Securing the Horn of Africa through Ethiopia
The meeting with Million Lema Tadesse, the Executive Director of Analysis at Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service, carried a different kind of strategic weight. Ethiopia is one of the newest members of the BRICS family, and its location in the Horn of Africa makes it a vital geopolitical player.
For India, Africa isn't a secondary theater. It's a priority. Doval and Tadesse focused on turning the India-Ethiopia Strategic Partnership into something with real operational teeth. They mapped out concrete areas of intelligence sharing, particularly regarding regional stability and counter-terrorism.
Hard resource tracking with South Africa
Then came the sit-down with Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa's Minister in the Presidency. This conversation shifted the focus from abstract intelligence to tangible development and supply chain security.
Doval and Ntshavheni dug into specific areas of developmental cooperation. South Africa holds some of the world's most critical mineral reserves—assets that India needs to power its domestic technology and defense manufacturing sectors. By tying developmental aid and technical cooperation to mutual security interests, New Delhi is making sure its relationship with Pretoria remains steady, regardless of shifting political winds in Africa.
The intelligence sharing strategy you wont see in official press releases
The Ministry of External Affairs kept its public summaries brief. They used standard phrases about "welcoming cooperation" and "exchanging views." But security experts know what really gets discussed when top intelligence minds get together on the sidelines of a major summit.
The main forum was explicitly dedicated to non-traditional threats, which is code for cyber warfare, weaponized artificial intelligence, and the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure.
When Doval sits down with an intelligence chief from Ethiopia or a senior diplomat from Brazil, they aren't just talking about global peace. They're exchanging raw data on how criminal syndicates use encrypted communication networks. They're discussing how deepfakes can destabilize elections. Most importantly, they're creating backchannels.
If a crisis hits the Red Sea or the South Atlantic tomorrow, these officials won't be waiting for formal diplomatic cables to clear. They'll use the direct lines established during these quiet rooms in New Delhi.
What India's next moves look like
This isn't a theoretical exercise. India's actions at the 16th BRICS NSAs Meeting provide a clear playbook for how the country intends to navigate an increasingly fractured global landscape throughout the rest of 2026.
If you're tracking international security or global markets, watch these three specific pivot points over the coming months:
- Joint Working Group Outputs: Track the upcoming implementation strategies from the BRICS Joint Working Groups on Counter-Terrorism and Cyber Security. Watch how fast India shares technical threat-intelligence data with new members like Ethiopia.
- Critical Mineral Pacts: Keep an eye on bilateral defense and trade follow-ups between India and South Africa. Any new agreements on critical mineral processing or maritime security in the Indian Ocean will trace back directly to these talks.
- Multilateral Voting Blocks: Watch how India, Brazil, and South Africa coordinate their positions at the upcoming UN General Assembly. Their ability to vote as a unified front on development and security issues will show whether these sideline meetings actually translated into real policy alignment.
The days of relying solely on Western-led security architectures are over. New Delhi knows it. By using its 2026 BRICS chairship to lock in deep, bilateral security ties with key regional players, India is quietly writing its own rules for global governance.
