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July 14, 2025BRICS 2025: India’s Push for Global South Cooperation in Rio
In Short:
- BRICS 2025—17th summit held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Signing of Rio Declaration calling for more Global South cooperation
- India takes on the BRICS presidency—18th BRICS summit to be in India
BRICS 2025 – Rio Chapter
On July 6-7, heads of state and representatives from more than 11 BRICS countries descended on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the BRICS 2025 summit, after the last BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia in 2024. The BRICS grouping welcomed Indonesia as its newest full member during this summit. The BRICS now consists of 11 member states after Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined last year. This summit also saw partner countries being incorporated in the summit, including Nigeria, Vietnam, Belarus, etc. The BRICS grouping now represents around 50% of the world’s population, which roughly contributes to around 40% of the global GDP.
For the BRICS grouping, this achieves a moment of pride as its expansion brings more of the global south to join its group. Unlike NATO or the European Union, the BRICS does not have a binding document. The organisation unites countries through mutual interest in global south cooperation and provides a platform for global south nations to express themselves.
Rio Declaration
The BRICS 2025 summit took place under the theme “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance,” and it led to the signing of the Rio Declaration, which confirms the group’s dedication to multilateralism while working toward a fairer global system. The Rio Declaration called for giving more voice and increased participation to the Global South countries, especially from Latin America and Africa, in the global decision-making process. This included pushing for more reforms and better inclusion of voices from the global south in the IMF, World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations.
Notable Absences at BRICS 2025
This summit was marked by the absence of Chinese leader, Xi Jinping and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. This is also the first major summit since the escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel. The summit in Rio also attracted the attention of the United States, which threatened to impose tariffs on countries that would go against its interests. The BRICS 2025 summit also had to navigate tensions within the fold, with conflict in West Asia further complicating the challenges. The summit was extremely important for India and saw the Indian Prime Minister landing in Rio after embarking on his 5-nation tour. India leveraged the BRICS summit as a strategic platform to engage with Global South countries on key issues of mutual concern.
India at BRICS 2025
At the summit in Rio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s vision for the future of BRICS. The themes promoted by India are resilience, innovation, and sustainability, highlighting its priorities from its 2023 G20 presidency, particularly its focus on the Global South and inclusive development. In his remarks, PM Modi emphasised India’s ethical and inclusive approach to artificial intelligence. Guided by the motto ‘AI for All,’ he stressed that AI should be used to enhance human values and capabilities rather than replace them. India called for a balanced global approach to AI governance that fosters innovation while addressing ethical and regulatory concerns.
On the sidelines of the summit, Modi held several bilateral meetings with leaders from Cuba, Malaysia, Uruguay, and Bolivia, where discussions focused on strengthening trade ties and expanding cooperation in areas such as digital technology, critical minerals, healthcare, and space. Following the summit, Modi began a state visit to Brazil, where he held official talks with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. These engagements highlighted India’s diplomatic intent to deepen bilateral ties and prepare strategically for its future presidency of BRICS in 2026.
India takes on the BRICS Presidency
India will assume the BRICS presidency in 2026 and host the 18th BRICS Summit. It aims to do so with a renewed vision to redefine the bloc to “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Security,” under a people-centric and humanity-first approach. This aligns with India’s consistent advocacy for collective global action on pressing issues like sustainable development, climate transition, and inclusive growth. Prime Minister Modi has already outlined India’s agenda: advancing climate justice as a moral duty, promoting clean energy and health security, pushing for reforms in global governance, and fostering responsible AI regulation alongside securing critical mineral supply chains. India’s upcoming chairmanship will coincide with its active role in shaping global discussions, particularly in the fields of digital public infrastructure, sustainable development, and South-South cooperation.
Looking Ahead
In conclusion, the BRICS 2025 summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil set the stage for India to take the lead in building the BRICS upwards. By navigating through increasing geopolitical complexities, India has laid the groundwork for the BRICS 2026 presidency. In these challenging times, India will need to cooperate further, even with its adversaries, if it wants to make the next BRICS a successful one. 2026 calls for fostering more unity and calls to elevate the position of Global South countries in a changing multilateral order.
Views expressed by the author are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.
Adithyan Puthen Veettil holds a BA in Economics from Azim Premji University and a Master’s degree in Advanced International Studies from the Vienna School of International Studies. He has previously worked at the UN in Vienna, and his published articles for the Austrian Economics Centre and Polemics Magazine.
Dr Dhritishree Bordalai holds a PhD from the Centre for European Studies (CES), School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. She has a Certificate in Public Policy and Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K), and has been awarded the UGC-DAAD Short-Term Scholarship during her PhD at the Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft (OSI), Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
She has attended several national and international conferences on her area of research and presented a paper at the Young Researchers Conference in JNU. Her core areas of research are migration, security and refugee studies.
Kalyani S K holds a Master’s in International Relations from Loyola College, Chennai with her dissertation on George W Bush's administration and American soft power. She actively collaborates with think tanks, government agencies, UNHRC, and academic institutions, contributing to research, policy engagement, and strategic dialogues. Her core areas of interest include maritime security, climate diplomacy, and sustainable development.
