The World Needs BRICS To Be The Adult In The Room

Source: Republic World | Original Published At: 2026-09-11 14:08:04 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS held its first official leaders' meeting in Yekaterinburg in 2009, initially positioning itself alongside the G20, UN bodies, and the multilateral trading system.
• The article states that BRICS now represents 3.85 billion people, 46.3% of the world population, 29.5% of global land area, 40% of global GDP in PPP terms, 26% of global trade, and over half of global economic growth.
• The 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro admitted ten partner countries, reinforcing BRICS' role as a representative platform for the Global South.
• The 18th BRICS summit is expected to take place in New Delhi, India, amid concerns about fraying global institutions and rising unilateralism.
• During the 2026 presidency, BRICS reportedly held meetings involving central banks, national auditors, judicial systems, urbanization departments, security authorities, space agencies, and disaster response bodies.
• BRICS science departments are said to have developed a tentative agreement on AI, while a financial framework has reportedly been proposed to address a multi-trillion-dollar funding gap for MSMEs.
• Payment mechanisms, preservation of the multilateral trading system, and institutional reform are expected to remain central to BRICS discussions.