By: Anit Mukherjee
As its leaders met in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil this week, the BRICS — a bloc of countries whose numbers have swelled to 10 — appears to have pivoted in some new directions, with a greater emphasis on development objectives being highlighted by the Global South. In the absence of Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin, the BRICS leaders’ statement focused on sustainable development, digital transformation, climate finance, and the form of global governance institutions. In many respects, this reflected less the anti-Western posturing of Moscow and Beijing, but an agenda more reflective of the broader needs of the Global South.
While doubts continue to be voiced regarding the motive and purpose of the group, the Leader’s Declaration supported the demand for the Global South to be an integral part of the global governance of new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. It also adopted a framework declaration for climate finance that lays out a roadmap for BRICS cooperation at a time when developed countries are pulling back on their climate commitments made under the Paris agreement and sharply reducing their development assistance, leaving a large gap to be filled by the countries of the Global South themselves.
At the same time, the geopolitical contradictions within an expanded BRICS that now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, are not going away anytime soon. The concept of the Global South is itself contested, but it is generally agreed that it encompasses regions and countries boasting considerable diversity in terms of language, religion, culture, political systems, and even levels of economic development, but with shared experiences as post-colonial states that developed belatedly, resulting in their political marginalization on the international stage.
While this definition fits most BRICS countries, it applies less to Russia and China which have previously sought to speak on behalf of the group and steer its agenda in a direction that others are not comfortable with, such as their advocacy for “de-dollarization” of international financial and trade flows. Finally, geopolitical contradictions among the members of an expanded BRICS cannot be wished away, be it between India and China (security and trade), Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa (UN Security Council membership), or Iran and the UAE in the current context of conflicts in the Middle East.
But rather than being constrained by them, the Rio summit has demonstrated a pathway for greater alignment of development priorities among countries of the Global South. The induction of Indonesia as a full member provides an opportunity to recreate an “IBSA+Indonesia” group, bringing together four countries that worked effectively through their consecutive presidencies to put development priorities of the Global South at the center of the G20 agenda.
This is where the major point of departure from the previous BRICS summits seems to lie. The call for reform of global governance is not just rhetoric. The Leader’s Declaration lays out in detail the process for a revision of quotas at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, representation of the Global South in the governance of artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies that will shape the future, and increasing the accessibility and affordability of climate finance.
With India assuming the BRICS presidency in 2026, there is an opportunity to ensure policy continuity and follow through on concrete actions. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned in his address, India’s presidency would attempt to give a new form to BRICS — to build resilience and innovation for cooperation and sustainability. The spirit of the Rio summit would help guide that path.
Anit Mukherjee is Senior Fellow for the Global Economics & Development program at ORF America.