Congress to host Bharat Summit with delegates from 70 countries in Hyderabad

The Congress will host the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14, bringing together around 1,000 delegates from nearly 70 countries. Discussions will cover the emerging global order, India's foreign policy, cooperative federalism and electoral integrity

New Delhi: Amid an evolving geopolitical situation, the Congress will host experts from 70 countries for deliberations on the emergence of a new global order and India’s strategic responses to the developments, besides issues such as cooperative federalism and electoral integrity.

Senior Congress leader and head of the party’s Foreign Affairs Department Salman Khurshid said the Bharat Summit, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14, will bring together around 1,000 delegates from across the world. The areas of focus will include the formation of a new think tank, “Our World”.

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The international conference will see the participation of senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, global policymakers and prominent figures from progressive movements, he said.

Discussions at the summit will primarily focus on the “political vision” of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, evolving national and international political landscapes, the emergence of a new global order and India’s strategic responses to these developments, he said.

“The intention is to reflect the vision of Rahul Gandhi for India and the world of tomorrow, and the emergence of a new global order. We will have 12 international sessions and eight important sessions focused on Telangana,” he told reporters.

Khurshid said the summit coincides with two important occasions — the 137th birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who “continues to be an inspiration for foreign policy formulation and thinking in our party”, and the 80th year of India’s independence.

He added that, besides discussing welfare policies, cooperative federalism, culture and society, youth and sports, and electoral integrity in Telangana and across India, the summit would focus on issuing a joint statement and setting up a new think tank, “Our World”.

Khurshid said Rahul Gandhi “will set out his vision for India and the world, and reflect on a substantive alternative foreign policy vision from India, built on principled multilateralism, strategic autonomy, peaceful coexistence and democratic values, and drawing on the legacy of Afro-Asian solidarity and the Non-Aligned Movement”.

The event will also see the establishment of a Global South-Global North platform and new Global South institutions, with engagement involving senior policymakers and party leaders from more than 50 countries.

Telangana IT Minister Sridhar Babu said the gathering of hundreds of delegates from different countries in Hyderabad would give a major boost to the state’s governance and its people.

“The summit will address geopolitical matters, the new world order, societal challenges, climate change, the role of the media, international journalism and information integrity.

“We will also host eight sessions on Telangana Rising. These sessions will cover topics such as Future City and urbanisation, economic justice, social justice, welfare policies, cooperative federalism, culture and society, youth and sports, and electoral integrity in Telangana and across India,” Babu told reporters at a press conference.

He said that after the Bharat Summit, the state would also host the Invest Telangana Global Summit 2026 from December 7 to 9. Partners participating in the Bharat Summit would deliberate on potential investments and be invited to the Invest Telangana Global Summit, he added.

Party leader Gurdeep Sappal said the summit was being organised at a time when divisive politics was prevalent not only in India but also across the world, and that it aimed to bring politics back to the people.

He said that “with IT companies now driving politics, it has to return to people’s issues driven by politicians”.

“The aim is to bring people out of the current era of propaganda and bring people’s issues and politics back in focus,” he said, adding that experts would deliberate on progressive politics instead.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Goud said the summit would be one of the biggest events to be held in the state, with international progressive thinkers from nearly 70 countries expected to participate.

The summit will bring together policymakers, thinkers, business leaders, activists and changemakers from across the world for a series of high-level panel discussions, closed-door roundtables and bilateral engagements, the Congress said.

It aims to take stock of a changing world and is the first major international gathering of progressive leaders after what the party described as landmark progressive electoral victories in Brazil, Hungary and Serbia, and immediately after the US midterm elections, it said.