Delhi. The BRICS summit is scheduled to be held on September 12 and 13 at the Bharat Mandapam. The official theme of the 18th BRICS summit being chaired by India is 'Building for Strength, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'. This is the fourth time that India is going to host it. But today BRICS, with 11 member countries and 10 partner countries, did not have such a big beginning. 20 years ago its story started with just four countries Brazil, Russia, India and China.
When and how did BRICS start?
To understand the story of BRICS we have to go back to 2001. Nearly a quarter-century ago, an economist at global investment firm Goldman Sachs coined a four-letter acronym for four fast-growing emerging economies. He named his research report 'Building Better Global Economic BRICS', rhyming with the word 'Brick' (brick), which later became a symbol of the strength and long-term prospects of these countries in the global economy. This abbreviation gradually became popular around the world and 'BRIC' became part of the vocabulary of the investment world.
Formal group formed in 2006
It was used to refer to the group of Brazil, Russia, India and China who were considered to be the future key drivers of global economic growth. After this, political and economic cooperation started increasing between the four countries. BRIC emerged as a formal cooperation grouping in 2006. The leaders of Russia, India and China met in St. Petersburg and the first formal meeting of BRIC foreign ministers took place during the United Nations General Assembly in the same year.
What is the full name of BRICS?
The name BRICS is made up of the first letters of the English names of its member countries.
B – Brazil
R – Russia
I – India (भारत)
C – China
S – South Africa
Initially the group was called BRIC. After the inclusion of South Africa, its name became BRICS.
South Africa's entry in 2010–11
This group expanded with time. After South Africa joined in 2011, the name BRIC became BRICS. However, the leaders decided to retain the five-letter name 'BRICS' for the multinational grouping. Brazil's official BRICS website also lists these 11 countries as members of the group. BRIC as a multinational grouping was formally established in 2006 at the first meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Why did BRICS expand?
BRICS countries believe that emerging economies should get greater representation in global institutions in line with their economic and population potential. According to the official description of BRICS, the group advocates for more equitable and effective representation in global institutions such as the UN, IMF, World Bank and WTO. This is why BRICS was not limited to just trade or economy, but its agenda expanded to global governance, development, finance, health, environment and political issues.
11 member countries in BRICS structure
Brazil
Russia
India
China
South Africa
egypt
Ethiopia
iran
saudi arabia
united arab emirates
Indonesia
Entry of new countries in BRICS
Full members of BRICS are Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2024, while Indonesia became part of the group in January 2025. Apart from this, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became the partner countries of BRICS last year. Today there are 11 member countries in this group.
First BRIC summit in 2009
The first summit of heads of state or government of BRIC countries was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009. The then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, China's Hu Jintao and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva participated in it.
Lula will not join BRICS
Among the leaders who attended the first summit, Lula is the only leader who still holds the post of President of his country. However, he is unlikely to attend the summit on September 12-13 and is expected to be represented by the External Affairs Minister.
Importance of BRICS will increase in the next 10 years
In the decade leading up to these summits in 2009, the world watched as emerging economies, for the first time, were growing faster than developed countries. This trend inspired Jim O'Neill, then head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs, to prepare a research paper focused on four fast-growing emerging economies. He highlighted these as key drivers of future global economic growth. He had said in his report that the 'importance of BRIC countries' in the world economy will increase significantly in the next 10 years.
He had also advocated for making changes in the G7 group and giving representation to BRIC countries in it. Many other research reports on this topic were published in the years that followed.
These also include Goldman Sachs' 2003 report titled 'Dreaming with BRICS: The Path to 2050'.
It estimated that the BRIC countries could potentially overtake the West's largest economies by 2039.
Subsequently, several mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and indices focused on BRICS were launched in markets around the world.
The group also announced the creation of a BRICS development bank in 2014, later renamed the New Development Bank (NDB).
BRICS are important for India
India is one of the founding members of BRICS and has been active in its activities since its inception. BRICS is important for India for several reasons:
First,
This gives India a platform to increase cooperation with the countries of the Global South.
Second,
India can raise the demand for reform in global institutions and greater participation of developing countries from the BRICS platform.
third,
Through NDB, there is an opportunity for financial cooperation for infrastructure and sustainable development.
fourth,
BRICS gives India an additional platform to maintain dialogue with important countries like China and Russia.
Big challenges of BRICS
As BRICS has grown, the conflict of interests of different countries has also increased.
There is strategic competition between India and China.
There is serious geopolitical tension between Russia and Western countries.
Member countries have different economic structures.
Not all countries have the same view on the dollar issue.
Building consensus may become more challenging as new members increase. Therefore, the strength of BRICS is its large population and economy, while its weakness is the differing political and economic interests of the member countries.
New Development Bank That is, what is BRICS Bank?
One of the most important achievements of BRICS is the New Development Bank (NDB). The idea of this bank came up among BRICS leaders in 2012. An agreement to establish the bank was reached at the Fortaleza Summit in Brazil in 2014 and NDB started work in 2015. Its objective is to provide finance for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in developing countries.
The authorized capital base of NDB is $100 billion. For this reason it is often called “BRICS Bank”, although its official name is New Development Bank.
Contingent Reserve Arrangement What is?
BRICS also made a Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) with the New Development Bank.
Its objective is to provide short-term liquidity support to member countries in situations like economic crisis or balance of payments crisis. CRA has also been added to the official document of the Government of India for the same purpose.
Iran will be at the center of discussion
Interestingly, in the first government-level meeting of this group in 2006, the situation in Iran and West Asia was discussed extensively. Nearly two decades later, when leaders gather in Delhi this weekend for the BRICS Summit 2026, Iran will once again be at the center of discussion. This time Iran itself is a member of the group and its President Massoud Pezeshkian is participating in the summit.