BRICS: History, Members, Initiatives and Summits

The BRICS is an informal diplomatic group of countries that cooperate and collectively operate on the world stage. They are united by their common interests, despite the significant differences among them. Initially, they were Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2011, thus forming the acronym BRICS. In 2024, five other nations have joined too. This coalition negotiates common diplomatic positions in multilateral forums, such as the United Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, and creates its own international institutions, such as the New Development Bank (NDB). Additionally, the group holds annual summits, during which BRICS countries debate major international issues, adopt declarations, and sign agreements. Through their collective efforts, the BRICS countries seek to create a more balanced international economic order and to address common challenges faced by developing nations.

History of the BRICS

In 2001, the term “BRIC” was coined by Jim O’Neill, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs, through his study “Building Better Global Economic BRICs”. He used this term to refer to Brazil, Russia, India, and China, countries he believed had potential for economic growth and investment opportunities. All of those countries had large territories (25% of the world’s land area), populations (45% of the world’s population) and economies (25% of the world’s GDP). O’Neill predicted that the BRIC countries would surpass the G7 in terms of GDP by 2032, suggesting a shift in global economic governance.

Initially, the term BRIC had no significant political connotations. Over time, it became apparent that the countries represented by this abbreviation shared common goals and desired to coordinate their foreign policies.

In 2006, the BRIC was officially founded during a meeting of the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China on the sidelines of the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly. The following year, another informal meeting took place in the same venue.

The BRIC countries intensified their discussions in the context of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. In 2008, their foreign ministers met officially in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and their heads of state and government met unofficially on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan.

In 2009, the first BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia — involving the presidents of Brazil (Lula da Silva), Russia (Dmitry Medvedev), China (Hu Jintao), as well as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Since then, the group has had yearly summits, each of them presided by one of its members, on a rotating basis. In 2011, South Africa became the sixth member of the BRIC, which then became known as the BRICS.

Members of the BRICS

Currently, the BRICS has 10 members:

• Brazil
• Russia
• India
• China
• South Africa (since 2011)
• Egypt (since 2024)
• Ethiopia (since 2024)
• Iran (since 2024)
• Saudi Arabia (since 2024)
• United Arab Emirates (since 2024)

Brazil, Russia, India and China were the original BRIC members, following the definition provided by Jim O’Neill’s report. In 2011, the admission of South Africa was publicly criticized by him, who said it did not make any sense, unless this country were to serve as a representative for African nations. In 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were admitted to the bloc — several of them had previously expressed interest in joining it. Their admission is related to “BRICS Plus”: an initiative advocated by China that proposes a different way to integrate the global economy, by connecting countries from the Global South and expanding the BRICS.

Argentina had also shown interest in joining the BRICS in the past. However, the administration of Javier Milei reversed this diplomatic position and declined an official invitation in December 2023.

Currently, there are some countries that want to join the BRICS but have not yet received an official invitation. That is the case of Angola, Mexico, Nicaragua, Turkey and Syria, for instance. Also, there are over 30 states that have shown interest in increasing their cooperation with the BRICS.

What do the BRICS countries agree and disagree on?

The BRICS aims to transform the world order, in order to give more voice to the countries that form the Global South. According to British scholar Andrew Hurrell, the group engages in soft-balancing strategies, such as cooperating in economic issues, in order to achieve its aims. This is possible because BRICS countries agree on a series of ideas to guide international politics:

• The importance of the Global South.
• The need for greater participation of developing nations in decision-making processes within the G20, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank — that is, the main international financial institutions.
• The need for appointing people from developing countries to lead international financial institutions.
• The urgency of creating a mechanism to verify compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).
• The condemnation of unilateral NATO interventions under the guise of humanitarian purposes.

In theory, all BRICS countries concur that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has to be reformed, because it no longer represents the balance of power in the modern world. However, there are significant disagreements as to how this reform should be undertaken. Most notably, Brazil and India propose to become permanent members of the Council alongside Germany and Japan, who are all members of the G4 group. However, China is reluctant to support this proposal, because it has historically been against the rise of Japan in global politics. This is due to the historical rivalry between them, particularly prolonged periods of Japanese imperialism until the rise of the Chinese Communist Party.

Furthermore, there are a series of international issues in which the BRICS countries have no pretense of achieving consensus, most notably:

• Commercial strategies and disputes: The members of the bloc do not coordinate their respective policies within the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the G20 developing nations (a bloc dedicated to finding common ground between these nations in trade negotiations).
• Security issues: The members of the bloc have distinct security concerns, even though there is some overlap between those of Russia, India and China in what refers to Central Asia, and those of Brazil and South Africa, in what refers to the South Atlantic Ocean. In certain cases, BRICS countries describe one another as rivals vying for regional hegemony.
• Regional-specific issues: Having countries from various continents of the globe, the BRICS is ill-suited for handling what are essentially regional issues, such as the War in Ukraine or the successive coups d’état in Africa.

The New Development Bank (NDB)

The New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the BRICS Development Bank, was established in 2014 and became operational in the following year. It was the first multilateral bank to be founded after the Bretton Woods Conference, which created the World Bank. The mission of the NDB is to provide loans for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries, particularly to foster trade between them. Its creation came because BRICS countries realized that existing international resources were insufficient to meet the demand for investments in their economies.

When it came to life, each of the five original BRICS countries pledged 10 billion dollars to the bank, totaling 50 billion dollars of subscribed capital that were immediately available for lending. However, the countries also decided upon an authorizing capital of 100 billion dollars for the bank — meaning that the NDB can reach this amount of available resources in the future, if that is the wish of its members, without needing to amend the constitutive agreement of the bank.

The New Development Bank’s headquarters are located in Shanghai (China), but it also has regional offices in Johannesburg (South Africa) and São Paulo (Brazil). The institution is led by a president and four vice-presidents, each of which represent one of the five founding members of the BRICS. After being elected on a rotational basis, they serve five-year terms, which are not renewable. In addition, the bank is managed by a Board of Governors and a Board of Directors. Since its inception, K. V. Kamath (India) and Marcos Troyjo (Brazil) served as presidents of the NDB. Dilma Rousseff is currently serving as president after the Brazilian government of Lula da Silva pressured Troyjo, who had been chosen by the previous administration, to resign before his term’s end.

Any member of the United Nations can become a member of the NDB, and voting powers are assigned based on each member’s contribution to the bank. However, developed nations are barred from ever borrowing from it or holding more than 20% of the voting power within it. Additionally, BRICS countries are collectively required to hold at least 55% of the votes, and no single country can hold more than 7% of the votes. These rules were conceived to ensure adequate representation of all countries in the bank’s decisions.

Currently, the NDB includes the five original BRICS countries, as well as Bangladesh, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Uruguay is a prospective member but has not joined the bank yet, as it has not completed the necessary admission steps. It should be noted that there are some BRICS members that joined the group in 2024 but are not yet part of the bank.

The New Development Bank has already financed about 100 projects, involving more than 30 billion dollars in loans. The majority of its money went to building and improving transport infrastructure and providing emergency assistance to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in member states. It has also contributed to projects regarding clean energy, water and sanitation, environmental protection, social infrastructure and digital infrastructure. In some cases, the NDB was just one of several loan agencies subsidizing certain ventures, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)

The Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a currency exchange fund designed to provide temporary resources to member countries facing issues in their respective balances of payments. Each BRICS country that adheres to the CRA is required to set aside a part of its foreign exchange reserves and loan them to the others in case they are dealing with financial imbalances.

This arrangement is managed by a Board of Governors and a Standing Committee. They have the authority to preventively loan funds even if a balance of payments crisis is only likely to ensure. There are 100 billion dollars available, but the contributions of each country are unequal:

• China: 41 billion dollars.
• Brazil, India, and Russia: 18 billion dollars each.
• South Africa: 5 billion dollars.

China has access to less than it contributes, South Africa has access to more than it contributes, and the others have access equal to their contributions.

According to India, since 2018, the CRA has been periodically tested by the central banks involved in it, in order to ensure its operational readiness — that is, to ensure that funds will be available to countries as soon as they are needed.

Other BRICS Initiatives

Besides the NDB and the CRA, there are a slew of initiatives under the BRICS umbrella: ministerial meetings, research platforms, memorandums of understanding, technical and scientific projects, plans of action, BRICS strategies, bureaucratic meetings, forums and many others. The BRICS is engaged in multiple aspects of international cooperation, and it is quite challenging to keep track of all initiatives. Some of them have been retired, while others remain in operation. Here’s a list of the highlights:

• Economic and Business Initiatives:
  • BRICS Financial Forum
  • BRICS Local Currency Bond Fund
  • BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism
  • BRICS Think Tank on Financial Safety Nets
  • BRICS Business Forum
  • BRICS Business Council
  • BRICS Women’s Business Alliance
  • BRICS Trade and Economic Research Network
  • BRICS Task Force on Public-Private Partnerships and Infrastructure
  • BRICS Alliance for Green Tourism
• Technological Initiatives:
  • BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform
  • Memorandum of Understanding on Regional Aviation
  • Agreement between BRICS Space Agencies on Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation Cooperation
  • BRICS Joint Committee on Space Cooperation
  • BRICS Innovation Network (iBRICS)
  • BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution

• Health-Related Initiatives:
  • BRICS Tuberculosis Research Network
  • BRICS Human Milk Bank Network
  • Memorandum of Understanding on Medical Product Regulation
  • BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center
  • BRICS Integrated Early Warning System
  • High-Level BRICS Forum on Traditional Medicine
• Social and Cultural Initiatives:
  • BRICS Film Festival
  • BRICS Seminar on Population Issues
  • BRICS Academic Forum
  • BRICS Universities Network
  • BRICS Universities League
  • BRICS Youth Summit
• Action Plans:
  • Action Plan on Counterterrorism
  • Action Plan for Agricultural Cooperation
  • Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation
  • Action Plan for Implementing the BRICS Agreement on Cultural Cooperation
• BRICS Strategies:
  • Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership
  • BRICS Strategic Program on Customs Cooperation
  • BRICS Counterterrorism Strategy
• Working Groups:
  • Anti-Corruption Working Group
  • Counterterrorism Working Group
  • Anti-Drug Working Group
  • Digital Economy Working Group
  • E-Commerce Working Group
  • Working Group on Security in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies

Summits of the BRICS

Since 2009, the heads of state and government of the BRICS countries convene yearly, each time led by one of them. The meetings are organized by the “sherpas” of the BRICS: high-level diplomats that have tremendous expertise regarding the bloc’s initiatives. These are the summits that have taken place so far, with their respective locations, presidents and main outcomes:

• First Summit (Yekaterinburg, Russia, 2009): The BRIC countries coordinated their diplomatic positions with regard to the reform of the international financial system. They advocated for greater representation of emerging economies within the institutions that comprise this system, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
• Second Summit (Brasília, Brazil, 2010): The BRIC countries continued to discuss the reform of the international financial system. They also signed an agreement to facilitate financing for energy and infrastructure projects, by means of loans granted by their national development banks.
• Third Summit (Sanya, China, 2011): Following significant Chinese pressure, the BRIC countries invited South Africa to the group, which then became the BRICS. The admission of South Africa highlighted the geopolitical significance of the bloc, given that this country is strategically positioned between the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, the BRICS countries discussed a host of international issues, such as the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• Fourth Summit (New Delhi, India, 2012): The bloc initiated talks to create the New Development Bank (NDB) and signed an agreement to facilitate the granting of loans in each of the national currencies of member states.
• Fifth Summit (Durban, South Africa, 2013): The bloc launched the “BRICS Outreach” initiative, which deals with improving the bloc’s relations with countries that are not a part of it. Also, the BRICS countries endorsed the proposal for investigations into human rights violations in Syria, in the context of the Syrian Civil War (ongoing since 2011). Finally, after the summit, BRICS leaders met with representatives from African countries.
• Sixth Summit (Fortaleza, Brazil, 2014): The bloc established both the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), two international organizations that promote economic cooperation between its members. After the summit, BRICS leaders met with representatives from eleven South American countries, with whom they discussed projects to foster regional integration.
• Seventh Summit (Ufa, Russia, 2015): This meeting marked the entry into force of the agreements that created the NDB and the CRA. Also, BRICS countries signed and adopted numerous initiatives, such as cultural cooperation agreements and the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership.
• Eighth Summit (Goa, India, 2016): The bloc discussed the recovery of the world economy following years of stagnation since 2008, emphasizing the role of fiscal responsibility and investment attraction, as well as the role of the NDB. In addition, counterterrorism was also discussed, in the context of increasing attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Middle East.
• Ninth Summit (Xiamen, China, 2017): This meeting established the BRICS TB Research Network, which focuses on identifying possible areas of scientific cooperation in the fight against tuberculosis. Additionally, several documents were signed, such as a Plan of Action about Innovation and the BRICS Strategy regarding cooperation between customs authorities.
• Tenth Summit (Johannesburg, South Africa, 2018): This meeting established the Innovation BRICS Network (iBRICS Network). Also, BRICS countries, represented by their transportation ministers, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Regional Aviation Partnership.
• Eleventh Summit (Brasília, Brazil, 2019): The bloc discussed various international issues, such as health, the digital economy, corruption, terrorism and the impact of information and communication technologies. With regard to these technologies, the BRICS countries agreed on the importance of establishing legal frameworks to regulate them, both within the bloc and in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations.
• Twelfth Summit (Moscow, Russia, 2020): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting took place via videoconferencing. Evidently, the pandemic dominated the discussions, with the countries insisting that the World Health Organization (WHO) had to be reformed. Other international issues that were highlighted on previous summits, such as the regulation of information and communication technologies, were debated too.
• Thirteenth Summit (New Delhi, India, 2021): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting also took place via videoconferencing. There were no significant outcomes from this summit, except renewed calls for the reform of multilateral institutions and for greater cooperation among BRICS countries in areas such as sustainable development and counterterrorism.
• Fourteenth Summit (Beijing, China, 2022): During this meeting, BRICS countries endorsed a declaration in favor of admitting new members to the bloc. They also continued their discussions from the previous summits.
• Fifteenth Summit (Johannesburg, South Africa, 2023): Five countries accepted an invitation to become fully-fledged members of the BRICS in 2024 — Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the bloc approved a series of rules and procedures to guide the admission of other members, in the future.

The sixteenth BRICS Summit is scheduled for October 2024 in Kazan, Russia. The Russians wish to profit from the occasion to update current BRICS initiatives related to innovation and economic partnership, as well as to establish the category of “partner country” for those states that would like to cooperate more with the BRICS even without becoming members of it.

Conclusion

The BRICS coalition has evolved significantly since its inception, growing from a group of four emerging economies to a diverse and influential alliance of ten nations. This group has worked to amplify the voices of developing countries on the global stage, particularly in economic and financial forums, and to create institutions like the NDB and the CRA, which aim to support sustainable development and financial stability among its members. Despite differences in their approaches to certain international issues, the BRICS nations have found common ground in their desire to reform global governance structures and to enhance the role of the Global South. In the following years, the ability of BRICS countries to deal with internal disagreements and maintain their cooperative spirit will be crucial to achieving the coalition’s goals.