The eighteenth BRICS summit is scheduled for September 12–13 in New Delhi. It will bring together leaders of the expanded group during a period when wars, trade disputes, and the changing world order call into question the ability of the alliance to act as a unified bloc.
India is hosting this summit as the current chair. The group currently comprises 11 full members and 10 partner countries.
Under the motto 'Building Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainable Development,' New Delhi has focused on interaction in the fields of economy, finance, technology, energy, development, and global governance.
The scale of this transformation becomes evident when tracing the origin of BRICS—a term introduced 25 years ago by Goldman Sachs economist to describe four emerging economies that, in his view, would become the main drivers of global growth.
Twenty-five years ago, BRICS did not exist as a political union. It was a concept introduced by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to designate Brazil, Russia, India, and China as emerging economies capable of becoming key forces in global economic growth.
In his work 'Building Better Global Economic BRICs,' he argued that the share of these economies in the world economy would significantly increase and called for their broader representation in international policy-making forums.
The transition from an economic concept to a government-led union began in 2006 when foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met at the UN General Assembly in New York. The first summit of their leaders took place in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009, giving the group an official platform at the heads of state level.
The following year, South Africa joined them, transforming BRIC into BRICS and providing the group with its first African representative.
The next major transformation occurred at the Johannesburg Summit in 2023, when BRICS agreed to its first large-scale expansion. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE were invited to join starting January 1, 2024. Subsequently, Indonesia became the eleventh full member of the bloc in January 2025.
The expansion also created the category of partner countries, allowing a wider group of emerging economies to participate in BRICS activities without gaining full membership status.
BRICS has evolved from a forum primarily focused on economic cooperation into a broader platform for developing and emerging economies seeking a greater role in global governance. Its members have repeatedly called for reforms in institutions such as the United Nations and international financial institutions, arguing that the structure of global governance must better reflect the changing balance of economic power.
The importance of the bloc is further supported by the institutions created by the group itself. The New Development Bank, established in 2015, was created to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries and other developing economies.
The significance of the bloc has increased even further due to its expansion. The accession of countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia has broadened BRICS's economic and geographical scope and strengthened its claims as a platform for the Global South.