The BRICS grouping completed a major expansion at its 17th Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, welcoming Indonesia as a full member of the bloc. Simultaneously, ten other countries were officially inducted as BRICS partner countries: Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. This latest round of expansion, following the 2024 inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, firmly establishes the group’s commitment to strengthening its role as the dominant voice for the Global South in the international arena.
In the joint declaration, leaders highlighted key initiatives adopted during the summit, notably the BRICS Leaders’ Framework Declaration on Climate Finance, the BRICS Leaders’ Statement on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence, and the launch of the BRICS Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases. These documents emphasize cooperation on emerging global challenges, with a shared vision for fair and inclusive governance mechanisms that reflect the priorities of developing nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly advocated for urgent reform of global institutions, arguing that the expansion of BRICS proves the group’s ability to evolve, a determination that must now be applied to bodies like the UN Security Council, the WTO, and Multilateral Development Banks. Modi underscored the point, stating, “In the age of AI, where technology evolves every week, it’s unacceptable for global institutions to go eighty years without reform. You can’t run 21st-century software on 20th-century typewriters.”
