Parliamentary diplomacy complements executive-led foreign policy. Discuss with reference to India's hosting of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

Parliamentary diplomacy means conducting relations between countries through their legislators, not only through governments. India is hosting the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi, and the Prime Minister met BRICS MPs there on 26 October 2026 [1]. This legislative track adds to executive-led foreign policy, but it cannot replace it.

How parliamentary diplomacy complements the executive

• Two tracks in one year: India hosts both the governments' track (the 18th BRICS Summit, New Delhi, 12–13 September 2026) and the parliamentary track during its 2026 Chairship [1][2].
• Legislative legitimacy: at the 11th Forum in Brasília (2025), the parliaments of all 10 members condemned the Pahalgam attack and backed "zero tolerance" on terrorism [3].
• Advancing India's priorities: the same consensus text included India's proposals on terror financing, intelligence sharing, misuse of emerging technologies and judicial cooperation [3].
• Executive–legislature synergy: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla took over the Forum's chairmanship [3]. The PM's own meeting with the delegates showed political backing [1].
• Wider outreach: the Forum lets MPs build ties with an expanded, 10-member BRICS, beyond the original five [3].

Limits of the legislative track

• Sequencing: the Forum met about six weeks after the Summit [1][2]. MPs could respond to the leaders' declaration but not shape it.
• Weak formal power: under Article 73 read with Entry 14 of the Union List, the executive signs treaties without a vote in Parliament. Parliament comes in only when a treaty needs a new law under Article 253.
• Non-binding, consensus outputs: Forum declarations bind no government. Consensus also waters the text down to what the least willing member will accept.
• Opaque outcomes: the official release on the 26 October meeting names no issues or decisions [1].

Way forward

• Hold future Forums before the Summit so that MPs' views can reach the leaders.
• Publish the full New Delhi declaration and lay it before Parliament, or send it to the Committee on External Affairs.
• Use the chairmanship to review what members have done on the 2025 anti-terror commitments [3].

Parliamentary diplomacy therefore adds legitimacy, continuity and people-to-people depth to executive-led foreign policy, though its role is only advisory. If India schedules the Forum ahead of summits and links its outcomes to scrutiny at home, its 2026 chairmanship can serve as a model. That would fit the Chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability" [2], and strengthen a democratic, multipolar order.