Editor’s note: Ankit Prasad is a CGTN biz commentator. The article reflects the author’s views and not necessarily those of CGTN.
Brazil’s picturesque metropolis Rio de Janeiro will host the 17th BRICS Summit from July 6 to 7, with government leaders convening for what is increasingly becoming a leading forum for the voice of the Global South. The number 17 is significant – in many parts of the world it marks the penultimate year before an individual attains majority or adulthood, and at 17, there is every indication that the same is true of BRICS.
The grouping has come a long way since its conception in a Goldman Sachs thesis in 2001. The seminal paper titled “Building Better Global Economic BRICs” had estimated that Brazil, Russia, India and China would account for 23.3 percent of global GDP in purchasing power parity, or PPP (US dollar rates) terms by end-2000. While IMF data suggests that estimate may have been over-optimistic (the real figure was closer to 17 percent), following the addition of South Africa in 2010 as well as the 2024 expansion, BRICS’ share of the global GDP (in PPP terms) is projected to be 41 percent in 2025.
With Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE having also become full members, BRICS now accounts for over 40 percent of the world’s population and some 35 percent of the land area. Crucially, it has continued to outpace global economic growth, with the IMF projecting BRICS nations to grow by 3.4 percent this year compared to the 2.8 percent global average. In terms of international trade too, BRICS countries answer for 24 percent of the total global exchanges, as per the BRICS website. But while the shared economic trajectory of being emerging market economies may have been the BRICS’ foundational common thread, the group’s raison d’etre has increasingly evolved to being a champion of multipolarity and inclusive growth.
The theme for Brazil’s 2025 presidency has been “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance,” with political attention focused on six core areas: Global health cooperation; Trade, investment & finance; Climate change; Artificial Intelligence governance; Multilateral peace and security architecture; and Institutional development. These entail the most pressing issues the world faces at the moment, and it’s crucial to ensure that the interests of as many people as possible are represented.
The 10 full BRICS members represent a vast geographical spread, including parts of the world that have only recently begun to share in the fruits of industrial development. In addition, 10 countries have also been granted the “BRICS Partner Country” status, namely, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan, significantly extending BRICS’ inclusivity and deepening its links with other key groupings and regions such as ASEAN, Central Asia, South America and Africa.
Nations clearly see BRICS as an increasingly influential platform. And BRICS, in turn, has enlarged its mechanisms to provide a vast array of coordination forums. For instance, while all eyes will doubtlessly be on the Leaders’ summit, the preceding week will play host to the 3rd Sherpas meeting, a Women Business Alliance meeting, a BRICS Business Council meeting, a Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, and more. And neither is this simply a flurry of activity before the main event where participants will finalize matters for leaders to sign on the dotted line — Brazil has planned close to 120 events during the course of its presidency, keeping up the pace set by previous hosts.
What’s most remarkable about this kind of continuous and multifaceted engagement is the sheer spread of domains and initiatives. Ahead of the summit, the BRICS Academic Forum has unveiled a compendium of topical consultations through the years. The document is effectively a ready-reference of the various BRICS meetings and working groups, their respective memberships and mandates, and their activities and outcomes, including joint declarations and action plans.
The various expert groups and ministerial groups straddle multiple sectors, including agriculture, business, civil issues, culture, energy, think tanks, trade, sustainable finance, labour and employment, security and statistics. They also include groups on socio-political development like meetings of political parties, civil society organizations, women’s affairs, youth affairs, and even a Young Scientists forum.
The frequency of engagement is clearly high and the scope is quite holistic, offering evidence of how BRICS has developed and matured through the years. Far from being some kind of thinly veiled counterweight that nations are prone to forming, championing and then discarding, BRICS has added layers of structure and a larger purpose – advancing the cause of the Global South and facilitating the progress of the developed world – meeting by meeting, brick by brick.
The BRICS model of inclusive cooperation is coming of age
