Time For BRICS To Move From Declaration To Impact

At the BRICS: Business and Sustainability conclave organised by The Secretariat on 1 October, 2026, diplomats and policy experts came together to discuss the implications for the supply chain, connectivity, and trade.

Delivering the keynote address, Rajiv Kumar, Chairman of Pahle India Foundation and former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, said the bloc should move “from declaration to impact”, pointing to its 60% share of the global working population and 26% of world trade.

“BRICS can become the nucleus of a new rule-based global order. BRICS needs to take itself more seriously. Which other formation in the world can take forward this transition better than BRICS? It is a platform that needs to command more respect and attention,” Kumar pointed out.

For Brazil, the answer lies in pragmatism. With BRICS becoming increasingly diverse, Kenneth Félix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Ambassador, Embassy of Brazil, said “pragmatism should be the name of the game”, as the bloc seeks to advance the Global South agenda.

Timur Chernyshov, First Secretary, Embassy of Russia, pointed to the machinery already being built — cross-border payments, settlement infrastructure, reinsurance and investment platforms — while stressing that BRICS should become a “platform of partnership” contributing to sustainable development.

Ahmad Rama Aji Nasution, Minister Counsellor, Economic Affairs, Embassy of Indonesia, brought the discussion back to execution: BRICS must “convert its strength into practical cooperation” and be “a bridge, not a barrier, for growth.

The first session was moderated by Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharyya, former BRICS Sherpa and Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University.