BRICS

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov and to the two forums RIC (Russia, India, China) and IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa). BRIC was originally a term coined by British economist Jim O'Neill and later championed by his employer Goldman Sachs in 2001 to designate the group of emerging markets. The first summit in 2009 featured the founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, where they adopted the acronym BRIC and formed an informal diplomatic club where their governments could meet annually at formal summits and coordinate multilateral policies. In April 2010, South Africa attended the 2nd BRIC summit as a guest. In September 2010 they joined the organization which was then renamed BRICS, and attended the 3rd BRICS summit in 2011 as a full member. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates attended their first summit as member states in 2024 in Russia. Indonesia officially joined as a member state in early 2025, becoming the first Southeast Asian member. The acronym BRICS+ (in its expanded form BRICS Plus) has been informally used to reflect new membership since 2024.

Some in the West consider BRICS institutions an alternative to institutions such as those led by nations of the G7 bloc, which are among the world's leading economies. Others describe the grouping as an incoherent joining of countries around increasing anti-Western and anti-American objectives. Together BRICS has implemented competing initiatives such as the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, BRICS PAY, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication and the BRICS basket reserve currency. In its first 15 years BRICS has established almost 60 intra-group institutions, and think tanks to dialogues, covering agenda in 34 subjects. The original five members and Indonesia are also part of the G20. BRICS has received both praise and criticism from numerous commentators and world leaders.