The 17th annual BRICS summit kicked off on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which currently holds the group’s rotating presidency. The two-day event is dedicated to multilateral cooperation, as well as various global development and governance issues.
Brazil has named six priorities for this year’s agenda: Global health cooperation; trade, investment, and finance; climate change; AI governance; reform of the multilateral peace and security system; and institutional development within BRICS.
This year’s summit brings together around 4,000 participants from 37 nations, including senior dignitaries from member states, partner countries, and international bodies, according to earlier estimates by Brazilian officials.
This year, the Russian delegation is led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. President Vladimir Putin has joined the plenary session – ‘Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence’ – via video link.
BRICS was founded primarily as an economic group in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. Over the past year, the group has extended full membership to Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
Last year, at the group’s summit in Kazan, Russia, BRICS approved a new ‘partner country’ status in response to a growing membership interest shown by more than 30 countries.
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06 July 2025
BRICS is seeking to create “a more stable global economic architecture that is built on the principles of universality, transparency and non-discrimination,” the Russian foreign minister said. The goal requires a fundamental reform of international institutions that long since degraded into neo-colonial tools, Lavrov stressed.
“The continued use of the [International Monetary Fund] and [World Bank] with a view to preserve neo-colonial practices is unacceptable. A similar situation is unfolding in the [World Trade Organization] as well. Years-long blocking of the WTO dispute-settlement body and introduction of new discriminatory measures against developing countries … inflict serious damage to global trade,” he stressed.
The emerging multipolar world is “not a choice but rather an objective reality,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the second session of the summit. A new model is set to succeed “the outdated neo-liberal model that actually builds on neo-colonial practices” dominated by “ the so-called developed states of the West,” he added.
“Economic crises of recent decades have been the first signs of this model’s malfunctions. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed countless disadvantages of the global trade and finance system and accelerated its fragmentation. The erosion of the global economic world order has been exacerbated as a result of illegitimate unilateral sanctions and use of the [US] dollar as a means of punishment,” Russia’s top diplomat stated.
The group has officially welcomed its newest member, Indonesia, as well as named ten partner countries, according to the joint statement adopted at the summit. Here is the list of the official partners of BRICS:
- Belarus
- Bolivia
- Kazakhstan
- Cuba
- Nigeria
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Uganda
- Uzbekistan
The Russian delegation led by top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has met with India’s delegation headed by Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
The group has unequivocally condemned the strikes recently unleashed by Israel on Iran, expressing “grave concern over the subsequent escalation of the security situation in the Middle East.”
“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since June 13, 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the BRICS member states said in a joint statement. “In this context, we reiterate our support for diplomatic initiatives aimed at addressing regional challenges. We call upon the United Nations Security Council to be seized of this matter.”
Next year’s BRICS summit will take place in India, the members of the group said in a joint statement. The document was adopted by the BRICS leaders during the plenary session of the summit.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is holding a string of bilateral meetings with fellow top diplomats from other BRICS countries and partner states. Thus far, Lavrov has held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Brazil’s top diplomat, Mauro Vieira, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
South Africa remains “gravely concerned” about the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East, the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said, invoking the recent conflict between Israel and Iran.
“The recent attacks by Israel and the United States on the Islamic Republic of Iran raise serious concerns of international law, including the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the protection of civilians,” he told the plenary session.
The UN Security Council must be expanded with new permanent members, the Brazilian president has said, arguing that the global body has long lost its credibility and effectively become paralyzed. Delaying the reform of the Security Council only “makes the world more unstable and dangerous,” Lula warned.
“Every day we spend with an outdated and exclusionary international structure is a day lost in solving the serious crises that afflict humanity,” he stated, arguing that new permanent members from Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean should be added.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticized a recent NATO decision to sharply increase its defense spending, accusing the members of the US-led bloc of neglecting their global commitments.
“It is easier to allocate 5% of GDP to military spending than to fulfill the 0.7% promised for official development assistance. This shows that the resources to implement the 2030 Agenda do exist, but they are not made available due to a lack of political will. It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” the summit’s host stated.
The Global South has long been a victim of “double standards” with regard to its development, distribution of resources and security-related issues, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
“BRICS remains a powerful force for economic cooperation and global good,” he stated at the plenary session.
The BRICS nations are continuing to expand cooperation “in key areas of politics and security, economics and finance, cultural and humanitarian contacts,” Putin has said, expressing hope that the summit will be fruitful.
“I believe that the final declaration of the Rio de Janeiro summit, which has been prepared for approval, creates a good foundation for our further joint work in the traditional BRICS spirit of continuity and equal cooperation,” he added.
The BRICS member states have been increasingly using national currencies in trade operations between each other, the Russian president has said.
“The use of national currencies in trade between our countries is steadily growing. In 2024, the share of our national currency, the ruble, and the currencies of friendly countries in Russia’s settlements with other BRICS countries amounted to 90%.”
BRICS has been built on “mutual respect,” bringing together peoples of different cultures and religions, Putin has said, adding that the group now includes the “leading countries of Eurasia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.”
“BRICS has many like-minded people among the countries of the Global South and East. They are impressed by the culture of open partnership and cooperation, mutual respect, and consideration of each other’s opinions that has developed within the association,” he added.
The world is currently undergoing “drastic changes,” as the liberal globalization model is continuing to lose its footing, giving way to an emerging global economic system, Putin has stated.
“The unipolar system of international relations, which has been serving the interests of the so-called ‘golden billion’, is becoming a thing of the past, succeeded by a more just multiplayer world,” the Russian president has said.
The BRICS nations account for around 40% of the world’s economy, with their combined GDP reaching $77 trillion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. The group’s global influence has been growing steadily every year, he added.