An informal grouping of countries that has evolved into an intergovernmental organisation, BRICS serves as a forum for cooperation among nine leading emerging economies: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
BRICS, an intergovernmental organisation, was initially identified to highlight investment opportunities in emerging markets. Over time, it evolved into a geopolitical bloc, with member governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies since 2009.
The principles of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit primarily guide relations among BRICS countries.
The founding countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—held their first leaders’ summit in Russia in 2009 under the name “BRIC.” Following the Group’s expansion, South Africa joined in 2010 and participated as a full member at the 2011 Summit. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates attended their first Summit as full member States during the 2024 Summit in Russia. The acronym “BRICS+” has been informally used to reflect the inclusion of these new members.
BRICS institutions are regarded as alternatives to Western-led organisations such as those dominated by the G7 Bloc of advanced economies. Collectively, BRICS has introduced various initiatives, including the New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, BRICS Pay, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication, and the proposed BRICS basket reserve currency.
These initiatives have garnered praise and criticism from analysts and commentators, reflecting the group’s growing influence in global economic and political arenas.
How BRICS Came to Be
The term “BRIC” was originally coined to describe foreign investment strategies. It was introduced in the 2001 publication Building Better Global Economic BRICs by Jim O’Neill, who was then the head of global economics research at Goldman Sachs and later served as Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
The foreign ministers of the initial four BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—met for the first time in New York City in September 2006 on the sidelines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly. This meeting marked the beginning of a series of high-level diplomatic engagements. A full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 16, 2009.
The first formal BRIC Summit, also held in Yekaterinburg, took place on June 16, 2009. It was attended by the leaders of the four founding nations: Luis Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Dmitry Medvedev (Russia), Manmohan Singh (India), and Hu Jintao (China). The Summit’s primary focus was improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions. The discussions also explored ways for the four countries to enhance cooperation in addressing global challenges and increasing the involvement of developing nations—like three-quarters of the BRIC members—in global affairs.
Following the Yekaterinburg Summit, the BRIC nations announced the necessity of establishing a new global reserve currency characterised by diversity, stability, and predictability. Although their statement did not explicitly criticise the perceived “dominance” of the US dollar—an issue Russia had raised in the past—it did trigger a decline in the dollar’s value against other major currencies.
Expansion in 2010
In 2010, South Africa initiated efforts to join the BRIC grouping. The formal admission process began in August of that year. On December 24, 2010, South Africa officially became a member after being formally invited by China and subsequently accepted by the other BRIC nations. The group was renamed BRICS, with the “S” representing South Africa, to reflect the expanded membership. In April 2011, South African President Jacob Zuma attended the BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, as a full member for the first time.
New Development Bank
In June 2012, the BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to increase the lending capacity of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, this contribution was contingent upon IMF voting reforms.
By March 2013, during the fifth BRICS Summit held in Durban, South Africa, member countries agreed to establish a global financial institution as an alternative to the Western-dominated IMF and World Bank. This initiative was the foundation of the New Development Bank (NDB), with plans for its formal establishment by 2014.
During a BRICS leaders’ meeting in St. Petersburg in September 2013, financial commitments toward the reserve pool were announced: China pledged $41 billion; Brazil, India, and Russia each committed $18 billion, and South Africa contributed $5 billion. As China held the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves, it sought a more significant managerial role and proposed hosting the reserve fund.
In October 2013, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed that $100 billion would be designated to stabilise currency markets, with implementation targeted for early 2014. Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega further confirmed that the fund would be operational by March 2014. However, by April 2014, the currency reserve pool and the Development Bank were delayed, with the timeline pushed to 2015.
In July 2014, during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, the BRICS members officially signed agreements to establish the $100 billion New Development Bank (formerly referred to as the “BRICS Development Bank”) and a reserve currency pool worth an additional $100 billion. Other agreements included cooperation frameworks between BRICS export credit agencies and collaborative innovation strategies.
The Fortaleza Summit was followed by a meeting in Brasília between BRICS leaders and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) presidents, further solidifying cooperation between the two groups.
A Range of Initiatives
Since 2011, the National Institutes of Statistics of the BRICS nations—comprising IBGE (Brazil), Rosstat (Russia), the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the Central Statistics Office of India, and Statistics South Africa—have collaborated on an annual joint statistical publication. This initiative aims to provide a unified data platform, offering statistical comparisons, insights into adopted methodologies and results beneficial to all participating countries.
In 2012, BRICS began planning an optical fibre submarine communications cable system, referred to as the BRICS Cable, to facilitate secure telecommunications between member countries. This project was partly motivated by concerns over surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency, which monitored global telecommunications traffic flowing through the United States. However, as of 2023, the construction of this cable system had yet to commence.
In August 2019, during the fifth meeting of BRICS communication ministers in Brasília, Brazil, a letter of intent was signed to enhance cooperation in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. This agreement underscored the Group’s commitment to advancing technological collaboration.
The New Development Bank (NDB), a key BRICS institution, announced plans to disburse $15 billion to member states to support struggling economies after the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 BRICS Summit, held virtually in St. Petersburg, Russia, focused on addressing the pandemic’s impact and reforming the multilateral system.
At the 13th BRICS Summit in 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a transparent investigation into the origins of COVID-19, urging full cooperation from all nations under the World Health Organisation (WHO). In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised the need for BRICS nations to oppose the politicisation of the investigation process.
In May 2023, South Africa announced plans to grant diplomatic immunity to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials, allowing them to attend the 15th BRICS Summit despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Putin. However, in July 2023, Putin confirmed that he would not personally attend the Johannesburg Summit, held from August 22 to 24. Instead. He participated remotely, delivering remarks and joining all BRICS leaders’ sessions, including the Business Forum, through virtual channels.
2024 Expansion
At the 15th BRICS Summit in August 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the invitation of six emerging market countries—Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—to join the bloc. Full membership for these nations was initially scheduled to commence on January 1, 2024.
However, political developments in Argentina disrupted its anticipated membership. Following the November 2023 general election, Argentina’s new President, Javier Milei, pledged to withdraw the country’s application. On November 30, 2023, incoming Foreign Minister Diana Mondino confirmed Argentina’s decision not to join BRICS. By December 29, 2023, the Argentine government formally communicated its withdrawal from the application process to all BRICS leaders.
Saudi Arabia also delayed its entry into BRICS. While initially slated to join on January 1, 2024, the country announced in mid-January that it was still evaluating its decision. As of April 2024, Saudi Arabia’s membership remained under consideration.
The BRICS expansion was framed as a strategic move to foster a multipolar global order, counterbalancing the Western-dominated geopolitical landscape. China Daily highlighted the expansion as evidence of increasing interest from developing nations in joining BRICS.
On October 24, 2024, the Bloc extended invitations to 13 additional countries—Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam—to participate as “observer partner countries.” While these nations were not granted full membership, their observer status allows them limited engagement and support from BRICS member States.
Currently, the economic and political dynamics of the Bloc are significantly influenced by China, which contributes approximately 70% of the organisation’s total GDP. Among the member countries, Brazil, India, and China are notable for their inclusion in the world’s top ten nations by population, land area, and gross domestic product (GDP) in both nominal and purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
As of 2024, all five founding members of BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—are also members of the G20. Together, they represent a combined nominal GDP of US$28 trillion (27% of the global gross world product), a total GDP (PPP) of approximately US$65 trillion (35% of global GDP PPP), and combined foreign reserves estimated at US$5.2 trillion.
BRICS Summits
Since 2009, BRICS has held annual summits, with each member country taking turns to host. Before South Africa’s admission, two BRIC summits took place in 2009 and 2010.
The First Summit with all five BRICS members was held in 2011 in China, marking the expanded group’s formal meeting.
The First Summit with all nine member countries occurred in 2024 in Russia.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Summits were conducted via video conference, adapting to the global health crisis.
