The leaders of the BRICS group of developing countries denounced the attacks on Iran, Gaza and Kashmir during their summit on Sunday, positioning the bloc as a champion of multilateral diplomacy while indirectly criticising US military actions and trade policies.
As platforms like the G7 and G20 remain weakened by internal divisions and the disruptive “America First” stance of US President Donald Trump, the expansion of BRICS has created new opportunities for diplomatic cooperation.
In his opening address at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likened the group’s role to that of the Cold War-era Non-Aligned Movement, which brought together developing nations that refused to align with either side in a divided global order.
“BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement,” Lula told leaders. “With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again.”
BRICS nations now represent more than half the world’s population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders warning of rising protectionism.
The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as members. This is the first summit of leaders to include Indonesia.
“The vacuum left by others ends up being filled almost instantly by the BRICS,” said a Brazilian diplomat who asked not to be named. Although the G7 still concentrates vast power, the diplomat added, “it doesn’t have the predominance it once did.”
However, there are questions about the shared goals of an increasingly heterogeneous BRICS group, which has expanded to include regional rivals alongside major emerging economies.
Stealing some thunder from this year’s summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his prime minister in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
Still, several heads of state were gathered for discussions at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
More than 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.
Growing clout, complexity
Expansion of the BRICS has added diplomatic weight to the gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund.
“If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date,” Lula said in his remarks, which highlighted the failure of US-led wars in the Middle East.
In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon, the leaders condemned military attacks against Iran’s “civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
The group expressed “grave concern” for the Palestinian people over Israeli attacks on Gaza, and condemned what the joint statement called a “terrorist attack” in India-administered Kashmir.
On trade, the joint statement warned that the “indiscriminate rise in tariffs” threatens global trade, continuing the group’s veiled criticism of Trump’s US tariff policies.
The group voiced its support for Ethiopia and Iran to join the World Trade Organisation, while calling to urgently restore its ability to resolve trade disputes.
The leaders’ joint statement backed plans to pilot a BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative within the group’s New Development Bank to lower financing costs and boost investment in member states, as first reported by Reuters last week.
Brazil, which also hosts the United Nations climate summit in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while Trump has slammed the brakes on US climate initiatives.
China and the UAE signalled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding conservation of endangered forests around the world.
