By Somar Wijayadasa*
MOSCOW | 9 July 2025 (IDN) — The Annual Summit of the BRICS Alliance took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, amid global turmoil: Israeli and US strikes on Iran, the Gaza crisis, the war in Ukraine, and NATO’s military spending surge – to name a few.
Preceding tensions included US President Donald Trump’s threat of “an additional 10% tariff on any country supporting BRICS’ “anti‑American policies”.
It was in the midst of such a discordant environment that the leaders and representatives (around 4000 participants from 37 countries and international organizations) from the newly expanded BRICS alliance met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 6-7, 2025, for the group’s 17th annual summit on the theme ‘Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance’.
Notable absentees from the summit were two founding leaders, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (only joined virtually) and China’s President Xi Jinping. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang represented them.
Also, notably absent were Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt’s Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi, who were represented by their foreign ministers. Perhaps due to these uncertain times and constraints, the Summit in Brazil was a low-key two-day event compared to last year’s Summit in Russia, which held hundreds of BRICS events and forums in 11 Russian regions, and 13 cities in the Federation.
This year’s Summit focused on six key topics, including global health cooperation, trade, investment, finance, and climate change. It also emphasised artificial intelligence, governance, multilateral peace and security architecture, and institutional development.
The BRICS alliance
BRICS is currently composed of eleven members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
Last year, during its Summit in Kazan, BRICS created a category of “partners” by adding Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. Brazil already admitted Vietnam (an Asian powerhouse with a population of almost 100 million and a dynamic economy) as a partner country of the group.
The extended BRICS+ group, comprising partner countries that see themselves as a voice for the Global South, now represents approximately 56% of the global population and accounts for around 44% of the world’s GDP, with a combined GDP of $77 trillion. BRICS also accounts for 30-43 per cent of global oil output. As an economic bloc, its share of Global GDP is larger than that of the G7, and the group’s global influence has been growing steadily every year.
Though the expansion adds diplomatic weight to BRICS — which aspires to speak for developing nations in the Global South — it has increased the complexity of reaching common terms on contentious geopolitical issues.
It is questionable whether an expanded BRICS, whose members have different political systems, affiliations, and priorities, forms a sufficiently unified bloc to have any significant impact on global issues.
Deliberations
In his opening remarks, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, “If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to the BRICS to contribute to its renovation”.
Saying that “eighty years after the defeat of fascism and the creation of the UN” Lula da Silva noted that “we are witnessing the unparalleled collapse of multilateralism” and that the meeting is taking place “in the most adverse global scenario”. He called for the group to promote peace and mediate conflicts.
Lula da Silva criticised the recent NATO decision to sharply increase its defence 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 fulfil 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. Saying that “It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” Lula da Silva said, “The fear of a nuclear catastrophe has returned to everyday life”.
The UN Security Council must be expanded with new permanent members, the Brazilian president said, arguing that the global body has long lost its credibility and effectively become paralysed. Delaying the reform of the Security Council, he said, only “makes the world more unstable and dangerous”.
“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, Latin America and the Caribbean should be added to the UN Security Council.
Saying that “We remain deeply concerned by the heavy human toll of conflicts in Russia and Ukraine, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Gaza, among others,” the South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa said that BRICS “must find just and lasting solutions to these devastating conflicts”.
Ramaphosa said that BRICS, by virtue of its geographical reach and increasing geopolitical relevance, is well-positioned to push for reform on matters of global governance. He urged the bloc to strengthen its collective voice in calling for “a global framework that is inclusive, representative, and anchored in the principles of sovereignty, equality, and peaceful coexistence.”
Addressing the Summit, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in global institutions to address the marginalisation of the Global South.
“The Global South has often faced double standards. Whether it’s about development, the distribution of resources, or security-related matters, the interests of the Global South have not been given due importance. On topics like climate finance, sustainable development, and technology access, the Global South has often received nothing more than token gestures,” he stated.
A few participants noted that the lack of cohesion in an enlarged BRICS, which doubled in size last year, may affect its ability to become another pole in world affairs. Unlike in the past, the speakers were somewhat restrained, and they saw the summit’s moderate agenda as an attempt by member countries to stay off Trump’s radar.
Other speakers shared common sentiments, and all commended on the usefulness of the alliance.
BRICS Rio de Janeiro Declaration
BRICS leaders adopted a carefully worded and non-controversial 31-page “Joint Declaration of the 17th BRICS Summit“ that consists of 126 commitments covering global governance, finance, health, artificial intelligence, climate change, and other strategic areas — including the group’s commitment to promote reforms in multilateral institutions, especially the UN Security Council. They called for greater representation of the Global South, developing nations, Africa, and women, as well as the defence of international law and a more equitable global order.
BRICS officially welcomed Indonesia as a full member and recognised its new partner countries like Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
New initiatives included: A climate finance agreement, a BRICS AI global governance framework, and a Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases.
The BRICS leaders issued joint statements on Israel’s attacks on Iran, as well as Moscow’s war in Ukraine, and other conflicts in the Middle East — but the language was relatively muted.
Overall, it was an extraordinary summit despite the difficult circumstances.
*Somar Wijayadasa, an international lawyer, has closely followed the development of BRICS since its inception in 2009. He has authored several articles on key events, including the inaugural Summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia (2009), the Summit in Xiamen, China, three pieces on the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa (2023), as well as coverage of the 16th Summit held in Kazan in October 2024. Mr. Wijayadasa previously served as Delegate of UNESCO to the United Nations General Assembly from 1980 to 1995, and as Director and Representative of UNAIDS at the United Nations in New York from 1995 to 2000. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image: BRICS member states family photograph during the 17th BRICS Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 6, 2025. Credit: Prime Minister’s Office (GODL-India).
