The focus on BRICS, which has completed 20 years, is about to get amplified as the elephant passes on the baton to the dragon. China will take over the presidency of the grouping from India next year.

Chinese media organisation Global Times noted that the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi “provided a convincing response to those who have repeatedly predicted the group's decline.”

It said BRICS not only remains firm on its path, it has “broadened its geographical representation, enlarged its agenda, and become an increasingly important expression of the collective rise of the Global South.” 

The flavour of BRICS has undergone a 360-degree change with the emphasis now on AI and the supply chain network, especially for critical minerals. The New Delhi Declaration promised “to promote reliable, responsible, diversified, resilient, fair, sustainable, and just supply chains of critical minerals…”

The recently concluded BRICS summit was monitored closely, especially as it got Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin together twice within a fortnight. The three leaders met at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (31 August–1 September) for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and again in New Delhi for BRICS summit on 12-13 September.

The BRICS grouping, representing half of the planet's population and controlling a quarter of global trade, will be more closely watched and scrutinised by leaders around the world now.

India, which successfully hosted the BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam, gave a new dimension to the grouping's activities. India’s BRICS Chairship was guided by the theme -- Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability, reflecting a people-centric and humanity-first approach.

With Modi passing on the BRICS chairship to Xi, the onus will be on China to implement the New Delhi Declaration in letter and spirit, and guide the organisation to play a meaningful role in improving the lives of peoples.

Under the leadership of India, the Summit unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration overcoming major political differences among member countries, especially UAE and Iran.

The Concept

The concept, initiated in the 2001 research paper ‘Building Better Global Economic BRICs’, gained traction when four foreign ministers (from Brazil, Russia, India, and China) met on the margins of the UN General Assembly in 2006, leading to the first BRIC summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa joined in 2011, transforming BRIC into BRICS. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became full members from 1 January 2024. Indonesia joined in 2025 as a full member.

In 2024-25, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam were roped in as Partner Countries. The only country that declined the offer was Argentina.

From its humble beginnings in 2026, BRICS has become an important global forum with 21 nations on board. It represents a significant share of the world’s population, landmass, and economic output, with members spanning Latin America, Eurasia, Africa, and West Asia. This geographic and demographic breadth makes BRICS a strong voice for the Global South.

One of the major achievements of BRICS was the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) in 2015 to fund infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member countries.

BRICS Natural Resources

The 11-member strong BRICS bloc represents 49.5% of the global population, around 40% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and 26 % of global trade. The member nations collectively possess a large share of the world’s natural resources, reflecting its economic might and geopolitical weight.

Together, they control 40–41% of global proven crude oil reserves and more than half of the world’s natural gas deposits, with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and the UAE having some of the largest petroleum basins. The bloc accounts for about 43% of global crude output and 32–35% of gas production, making it central to both supply and demand in energy markets the world over.

BRICS countries collectively hold an estimated 72–85% of global rare earth reserves, alongside dominant positions in graphite (around 50%), manganese (about 75%), nickel (roughly 28%) and significant shares of copper, lithium, and cobalt.

China leads rare earth mining and refining; Brazil has major lithium and graphite; Russia and South Africa dominate platinum-group metals; Indonesia is a top nickel producer; and partner countries like Bolivia and Kazakhstan add further lithium and uranium depth.

According to reports, the group produces over 57% of the world’s food, with China and India alone accounting for nearly half of global output, reinforcing BRICS’ resource leverage beyond minerals and energy.

The Path Ahead

For the shared prosperity of the peoples of BRICS, it would be incumbent on the member nations to expand trade. The intra-BRICS merchandise trade, according to an UNCTAD report, has expanded more than 13-fold since 2003. Exports reached US$ 1.17 trillion in 2024. 

China remains the central driver and, alongside Brazil, India, Indonesia, Russia and the UAE, significantly accounts for the most dynamic trade flows among BRICS members.

“Despite the rapid expansion, compared to the BRICS members’ economic scale and trade capacity, the enormous potential of the intra-bloc trade is yet to be fully tapped. For example, BRICS members collectively account for over two thirds of the Global South’s total GDP, while intra-BRICS trade accounts for only about 20% of South-South trade,” said the report.

It said the BRICS members need to adopt a “Trade+ strategy” that builds political willingness, links trade with a variety of other economic policy issues, including macro-finance, industrial development, digital and data policies, and regulatory framework. The strategy ought to focus on a bold BRICS trade agreement or arrangement, reforming the BRICS trade workstream and enhancing members’ institutional capacity.

As regards India, its trade relationship with BRICS has become much bigger in just five years. In FY2020-21, India's merchandise trade with BRICS countries stood at about US$ 203.1 billion. By FY2025-26, it had more than doubled to US$ 417.5 billion. The focus, however, should be to bridge the trade deficit which rose three times to US$ 226.1 billion in the last five years.