Guterres Meets Modi in New Delhi Ahead of BRICS Summit — SkimNews
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- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on September 11, 2026, ahead of the 18th BRICS summit India is hosting September 12-13, and the two held wide-ranging discussions on conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the UN spokesperson's office said.
- Guterres reaffirmed the principle of freedom of navigation during the meeting — a reference that takes on weight as The Hindu's parallel coverage flags Yemen's Houthis reaching a strategic island at the mouth of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint for global shipping.
- The two leaders discussed the impact of the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts on the global economy, specifically naming access to food and fertiliser as areas of concern.
- Modi and Guterres also exchanged views on the growing danger of lethal autonomous weapons, a topic not previously prominent in BRICS communiqués.
- India's BRICS presidency priorities — including the need for multilateral institutions that clearly reflect 21st-century realities — were on the agenda, with Guterres invited to speak at the summit's September 13 Open Session on 'Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.'
- Guterres thanked India for its close cooperation with the United Nations; his second five-year tenure as UN chief ends in December 2026, making this one of his final major multilateral appearances.
Why it matters: Guterres's explicit reaffirmation of freedom of navigation lands as Houthi forces push toward the Bab al-Mandeb strait — one of the world's most critical shipping lanes — giving India cover to push a diplomatic line through its 2026 BRICS chairmanship that ties maritime security directly to food and fertiliser access for the Global South.
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