Évariste Ndayishimiye, Burundi’s president, attended the BRICS summit as the rotating president of the African Union (AU). This Sunday, he called for strengthening the alliance between the emerging bloc and the African continent, prioritizing cooperation in key infrastructures, energy, and water resources.
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During his speech at the closing day of the summit in New Delhi, Ndayishimiye highlighted that sustainable access to water and sanitation constitutes one of the major axes of the AU’s action in 2026, according to an official statement.
Ndayishimiye identified water, transport, and energy as fundamental sectors for regional economic transformation.
The president thanked India for its role in strengthening Africa’s presence in global governance forums, with special emphasis on its support for the admission of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.
Dans son allocution, au dernier jour du 18ᵉ Sommet des BRICS à New Delhi, le Président de la République du Burundi et Président en exercice de l’Union africaine, Son Excellence Evariste Ndayishimiye, a appelé au renforcement du partenariat entre l’Afrique et les BRICS, afin de… pic.twitter.com/CJ86y5cFM3
— Ntare Rushatsi House (@NtareHouse) September 13, 2026
He also valued the support of BRICS in the adoption of the United Nations resolution on the “Correct the Map” initiative, stressing that “correcting the map also implies correcting the perception of Africa.”
The resolution will seek to replace the traditional Mercator cartographic projection with equal-area models that reflect the real scale of the continent.
On the sidelines of the event, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ndayishimiye held a meeting to enhance bilateral cooperation in agricultural development, youth training, technical capacity building, and clean energy.
Both leaders celebrated the integration of the African Union into the global forum, agreeing that the strategic alliance between India and the AU constitutes a fundamental pillar for the Global South, and discussed advancing the organization of the fourth India-Africa Forum summit.
During the eighteenth BRICS summit, the New Delhi Declaration was unanimously adopted, a 140-point document in which the bloc supported a greater role for India and Brazil in the UN.
They also called for maintaining the ceasefire and humanitarian access in Gaza, condemned unilateral coercive measures contrary to international law, and supported advancing the use of local currencies in operations among their members.
China will take over the BRICS presidency from India next year. The BRICS members include the founding members along with Brazil, Russia, and South Africa, and the new full members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
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