BRICS expands cooperation as Belt and Road drives global infrastructure push

BRAZIL: The 17th BRICS summit concluded in July 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, marking a significant shift in the bloc’s trajectory.

The gathering produced a joint declaration titled “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.” It reaffirmed the group’s support for multilateralism, international law, and sovereign equality.

The summit was attended by representatives from the bloc’s 11 member states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. This expansion of BRICS membership reflects the group’s stated aim to increase representation from the Global South.

The declaration included 126 specific commitments. These cover governance, finance, public health, artificial intelligence, and climate change. More than 200 meetings were held during the summit, resulting in new cooperation frameworks focused on hunger eradication, emerging technologies, and climate action.

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BRICS reiterated its core principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality, and solidarity. The group reaffirmed its commitment to a three-pillar structure: politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and people-to-people cooperation.

Institutional development received significant attention, as the expanded bloc seeks to strengthen internal cohesion. The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) admitted Uzbekistan and Algeria, while Morocco and Colombia expressed interest in joining. The NDB now plays a key role in financing infrastructure and development across member states and partners.