The 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum was launched in New Delhi at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under India's BRICS Chairship 2026. Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Manohar Lal formally inaugurated the two-day forum. Ministers, senior government officials and urban development experts from Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates participated. This is the fourth time India is hosting the BRICS Urbanisation Forum, having earlier held it at New Delhi in 2013, at Visakhapatnam in 2016, and virtually in 2021. The theme of this year's forum is 'People-Centric Cities: BRICS Cooperation for an Inclusive and Resilient Urban Future'. Shri Manohar Lal described inclusive urban development, climate and disaster-resilient infrastructure, institutional strengthening and digital innovation as key pillars of India's development journey. During the inaugural session he released a publication titled 'India's Urban Transformation: Stories of Change', compiling selected urban initiatives of States and Union Territories under the forum's four priority areas. A high-level plenary followed the inaugural session. On the sidelines, a bilateral meeting between India and the Russian Federation was held, co-chaired by Minister of State Shri Tokhan Sahu and Russian Deputy Minister Shri Yuri Mutsenek, reviewing progress on a proposed Memorandum of Understanding on sustainable urban development. Bilateral meetings were also held between Iran-Russia, Iran-China, and Russia-UAE. Delegations undertook site visits to urban initiatives in and around New Delhi, including the new Parliament complex and the India Gate-Kartavya Path area.