The 18th BRICS Summit is under way in New Delhi under India's 2026 Presidency, with the grouping now comprising 11 full member countries and a wider network of 10 partner countries, according to the World Media Organization.
The summit is being held under the theme «Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability». BRICS now includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
Collectively, the grouping represents around 49.5 per cent of the world's population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade — figures that give BRICS significant economic and political weight in the international system.
Beyond its full members, BRICS has established a partner-country framework that brings in Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. That structure provides an additional channel for countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and other regions to engage with the grouping and take part in discussions on issues of common interest.
Gautam Karve, Editor-in-Chief of the World Media Organization, said the growing importance of BRICS reflects a fundamental transformation in international relations.
«BRICS is becoming an important voice of the Global South. Its strength comes not only from the size of its economies and populations, but from its ability to bring together countries with different regions, resources, markets and development experiences,» Karve said.
He added that the participation of member and partner countries gives BRICS the potential to become an important platform for global dialogue, trade, investment, peace and sustainable development.
For Africa in particular, the expanded framework offers significant opportunities. South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are full members, while Nigeria and Uganda participate as partner countries, strengthening Africa's representation within the BRICS ecosystem.
That representation, according to the organisation, can create new opportunities for African countries in trade, infrastructure, energy, technology, investment, agriculture and industrial development.
The expansion marks a transformation of BRICS from its original five-member structure into a broader platform connecting major economies and developing nations across continents. The grouping's growth has been accompanied by a widening of its agenda, with member and partner countries engaging on questions of trade, investment, cooperation and sustainable development.
Karve framed the expansion as more than a matter of membership numbers. «BRICS is not only expanding in membership — it is expanding opportunities. A stronger BRICS means a stronger platform for trade, investment, cooperation and sustainable development across the Global South,» he said.
The New Delhi summit is the first to be held under India's 2026 Presidency and the first since the grouping reached its current 11-member composition. The theme chosen for the meeting places resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability at the centre of the discussions.
For small island states and developing economies across the Caribbean and the wider Global South, the direction taken by the expanded grouping is being watched as an indicator of how far the platform can translate its combined economic weight into practical cooperation.
