List of BRICS Nations 2025: Check Members and Summits

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization consisting of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Established in 2006, the group aims to enhance cooperation among its members in various sectors including economic, political, and cultural domains.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent five-nation diplomatic tour spanning Brazil, Ghana, Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina represented India’s strategic vision for the Global South. Centred around the BRICS summit in Brazil, these visits reinforced India’s position as a pivotal voice among emerging economies in a rapidly-evolving multipolar world.

It reflected India's will to recast global governance by empowering the Global South, intensifying regional coordination and balancing the hegemonic forces within multilateral forums.

India's bid to strengthen the voice of the Global South has picked pace in recent years and climaxed with the induction of the African Union into the G20 during India's 2023 presidency. This trend is now being replicated in BRICS, which is witness to expansive enlargement.

With proactive Indian participation, nations like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE have become members of the bloc, now called BRICS+. A few more countries from West Asia, Africa and Latin America have indicated an interest, recognizing BRICS as a reliable platform to advance their interests.

In the last twenty years, the BRICS economies have grown by leaps and bounds. In purchasing power parity, the group's combined economy today is $60 trillion, ahead of the G7's $45 trillion, fueled by the dynamism of Asian and other Global South nations. BRICS is not free of contradictions, however.

Border stand-offs in 2013, 2017 and 2020 have rewritten India-China relations dramatically. Though the group continues to preach harmony, there are dense undertones of distrust and trepidation. India's moves demonstrate a sharp cognizance of these realities.

India's present position can be better understood by looking at the genesis of BRICS in the early 2000s and the RIC or Russia-India-China basic structure. Back then, the world order was significantly different. Russia was a member of the G8, China was smoothly integrating into institutions led by the West, and India-China relations were quite amicable. The addition of Brazil and South Africa broadened the group to BRICS, united by a common vision of a new multipolar world.

Current Members

• Brazil
• Russia
• India
• China
• South Africa
• New Members (Effective January 1, 2024):
• Iran
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• United Arab Emirates
• Saudi Arabia (pending confirmation)
  
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BRICS Summits

Since its inception, BRICS has held annual summits where member countries take turns hosting. Below is a summary of the summit details:

Chairmanship Rotation

Chairmanship in BRICS rotates yearly among member countries. Russia is currently chairing for 2024, and President Vladimir Putin is at the helm of the agenda.

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BRICS is an association of emerging economies comprising close to 43% of the world's population and approximately 30% of global GDP. This group aims to offer a platform for dialogue and cooperation among emerging economies to improve their influence in global affairs as well as to promote sustainable development initiatives.

Chairmanship

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia and the host country, would make up the chairman of the summit. This year, Russia aims to focus on enhancing cooperation across three key areas:

• Politics and Security
• Economy and Finance
• Cultural and Humanitarian Ties

Goals and Themes

During the summit, Russia intends to:

• Increase BRICS' role in the international financial system.
• Foster collaboration between member banks and expand the use of BRICS currencies.
• Promote cooperation among tax and customs authorities.

Impact of New Members BRICS Decision-Making Process

Entry of new members into the group BRICS by 2024 will critically change the composition of decision-making within the group in the following ways:

Diversity and Complexity Hike

Heterogeneity: With Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on board, the political, economic and socio-cultural aspects and viewpoints become larger. 

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Challenges in Consensus-Building

As the membership grows, the ability of the group to agree on common political stances may also become less achievable. BRICS thus far has run on a consensus-type decision-making mechanism; but with expansion, there is the potential for inner opposition that may impact cooperative exchanges.

Strategic Objectives and Inner Dynamics

The new BRICS must define strategic goals to frame a comprehensive agenda in helping to bind together the collective action. Without clear frames of cooperation as well as criteria for future expansion, the group will become fissiparous, with dispersed interests overwhelming the collective goals. The power play between China and India, major players of BRICS, would also shape the direction the group will take to vie for leadership in the group.

Enhanced Global Influence

Taken together, the more enlarged BRICS now make up a significant proportion of global GDP (some 37.3%) and population. These economic muscles could thus afford the group to bargain for a more level international order and increase its influence in the structures of global governance. However, the contribution made by new members to the cumulative GDP is only about 4% so its impacts are likely largely in terms of political sway rather than strictly in terms of economic muscle.

Implications for Global Governance

The expanded BRICS could be a source of impetus towards reforming international organizations like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, calling for greater representation by developing countries. This, however, will depend on overcoming internal challenges and aligning with common objectives.

As BRICS continues to expand, its potential for reshaping global governance grows. The inclusion of new members like Saudi Arabia and Egypt signals a shift towards greater political influence, though the group's ability to maintain unity amid diverse interests will be crucial to its future success in international affairs.

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