BRICS Expands Its Global Reach, But Growing Membership Makes Consensus Harder

What began as an economic idea involving Brazil, Russia, India and China has evolved into a much broader political, economic and financial grouping with growing influence across the Global South.

BRICS now includes South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, giving the bloc a significantly wider geographic and economic footprint. But its expansion has also exposed a fundamental challenge: the more countries BRICS brings together, the harder it becomes to agree on what the group should ultimately represent.

The bloc now includes countries with different political systems, security partnerships, economic priorities and relationships with the United States and its allies.

From BRIC to a Much Larger Bloc

The term BRIC was coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill, who identified Brazil, Russia, India and China as major emerging economies with significant growth potential.

The four countries began meeting as a political grouping in 2009. South Africa joined in 2011, transforming BRIC into BRICS.

The bloc then entered a new phase of expansion:

• 2001: Jim O'Neill coins the BRIC acronym.
• 2009: Brazil, Russia, India and China begin meeting as a political bloc.
• 2011: South Africa joins.
• 2024: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE become members.
• 2025: Indonesia joins.
• Current status: Saudi Arabia has been invited but has not formally accepted membership.

The expansion gives BRICS representation across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia and Asia.

According to the cited report, its members collectively represent more than 40% of the world's population and nearly one-quarter of the global economy.

Why BRICS Matters

BRICS emerged partly from dissatisfaction with a global system viewed by its members as dominated by the United States and Western institutions.

Its broader objective is to give emerging and developing economies greater influence over global economic governance, finance and diplomacy.

Its activities generally revolve around three areas:

Political and security cooperation

Economic and financial cooperation

People-to-people exchanges

The group's chairmanship rotates annually, with members hosting an annual leaders' summit.

India's role is particularly significant as it seeks to use the platform to strengthen its position as a voice for the Global South while maintaining relationships with both Western and non-Western powers.

New Development Bank Is BRICS' Biggest Institutional Achievement

The most concrete institution created by BRICS is the New Development Bank (NDB), established in 2015.

The bank was designed to finance infrastructure and sustainable-development projects in emerging markets.

According to figures cited in the report, the NDB has approved 139 projects worth nearly $43 billion.

However, geopolitical tensions have also affected the institution. The bank suspended new transactions in Russia following the imposition of international sanctions.

This illustrates both the potential and limitations of BRICS institutions: economic cooperation remains possible, but members and their institutions operate within a global financial system still heavily influenced by Western sanctions and dollar-based finance.

BRICS Is Exploring Alternatives to Dollar Dependence

Another major area of cooperation is payments.

BRICS members are exploring mechanisms that could allow more trade settlement in national currencies, reducing dependence on dollar-based banking channels.

The group is also developing BRICS Pay, which aims to connect members' fast-payment systems and facilitate cross-border settlements.

Members are additionally examining potential connections between their central-bank digital currency systems.

The objective, however, is not necessarily to immediately replace the US dollar.

Instead, the strategy is largely about creating more financial options and reducing exposure to dollar-based systems, particularly for countries concerned about sanctions or restrictions on international payments.

Why a BRICS Currency Is Difficult

The idea of a common BRICS currency has attracted considerable attention, but significant obstacles remain.

Member economies have different monetary policies, currencies, capital controls and financial regulations. Their banking systems also operate at very different scales.

For a common currency to work, BRICS countries would require a much deeper level of economic and political coordination than currently exists.

Businesses also continue to favour the US dollar because of its global liquidity, convertibility and established role in international trade.

Brazil raised the possibility of a common BRICS currency during its chairmanship, but the proposal was subsequently dropped.

The Bigger BRICS Gets, the Harder Consensus Becomes

BRICS' greatest strength may also be its biggest weakness.

The bloc has traditionally operated through consensus, but its members do not share a single geopolitical vision.

Russia and China generally see BRICS as a potential counterweight to Western influence.

India and Brazil have generally placed greater emphasis on economic cooperation, reform of international institutions and strategic autonomy, rather than turning BRICS into an explicitly anti-Western alliance.

The difference is crucial.

A group can expand its membership rapidly, but producing strong joint statements, common policies or ambitious financial institutions becomes harder when members disagree over the bloc's fundamental purpose.

New Members Bring New Divisions

The recent expansion has made this challenge more visible.

BRICS now includes countries with competing regional interests and relationships with different global powers.

One example is the relationship between Iran and the UAE, whose strategic interests can diverge sharply, particularly over regional security and the US-Iran confrontation.

According to the cited report, these differences contributed to BRICS foreign ministers being unable to issue a joint statement following their New Delhi meeting in May.

India could increasingly find itself playing the role of bridge-builder, particularly when disputes between members threaten the group's ability to reach consensus.

China's Economic Weight Creates Another Challenge

There is also a significant economic imbalance within BRICS.

China's economy is substantially larger than that of most other members, giving Beijing enormous economic influence within the grouping.

That can raise concerns among other members that initiatives presented as multilateral could become disproportionately shaped by China's economic capacity and strategic priorities.

For India, this presents a particularly delicate balancing act.

New Delhi wants BRICS to strengthen cooperation among emerging economies, but it also has significant strategic tensions with China and does not want the bloc to become an instrument of Chinese geopolitical influence.

The West Is Paying Attention

Western governments increasingly view BRICS as a potential vehicle for shifting economic and geopolitical influence away from Western-led institutions.

However, the grouping is still difficult to classify as a unified anti-Western alliance.

Its members maintain different relationships with Washington, Europe and other Western economies.

US President Donald Trump has nevertheless described BRICS as “anti-American” and threatened tariffs if members attempt to establish a new currency or support an alternative to the US dollar.

Such threats could make some BRICS members more cautious about pursuing initiatives that appear designed specifically to challenge dollar dominance.

What BRICS Means for India

For India, BRICS provides several strategic advantages.

It gives New Delhi a platform to:

• Strengthen its voice among emerging economies.
• Promote reform of international institutions.
• Expand development-finance cooperation.
• Develop alternative trade and payment mechanisms.
• Engage major economies across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

But India's position also comes with constraints.

Its relationship with the United States has become increasingly important, while tensions with China remain significant. India therefore has little incentive to transform BRICS into a rigid anti-Western bloc.

Instead, New Delhi is likely to favour strategic autonomy, using BRICS for economic and diplomatic cooperation without allowing the grouping to dictate India's wider foreign policy.

BRICS' Real Test Is Practical Cooperation

The future of BRICS will ultimately depend less on how large its membership becomes and more on what its members can actually accomplish together.

Development finance is one area where the bloc has already created a functioning institution.

Payment connectivity, national-currency trade and digital-finance cooperation could become additional areas of practical progress.

But geopolitical divisions could continue to limit the group's ability to adopt common positions on wars, sanctions, security disputes and relations with the West.