BRICS summit in New Delhi confronts expansion challenges amid global tensions

At the annual summit in New Delhi, leaders of the eight-nation BRICS coalition convene to address growing internal and external challenges. The bloc traces its roots to a 2001 Goldman Sachs paper that highlighted Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011 and a further wave of members—Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE in 2024 and Indonesia in 2025—joining thereafter. BRICS was created to offer an alternative to a U.S.-led world order, now representing over 40% of the global population and roughly a quarter of world GDP.

Its most visible achievement is the New Development Bank, which has approved 139 projects worth nearly $43 billion, though it has halted new Russian transactions due to sanctions. The group is also building a BRICS Pay system and exploring central-bank digital currency links to reduce reliance on the dollar. Yet consensus is eroding as Russia and China view the bloc as a geopolitical counterweight, while India and Brazil stress economic reform, and the recent expansion has amplified divergent foreign-policy agendas, notably the tension between Tehran and Abu Dhabi. Western nations remain wary, with past U.S. leaders labeling the group anti-American and threatening tariffs on any BRICS currency initiative.