BRICS leaders meet in Rio to defend multilateralism ‘under attack’

Leaders of the growing BRICS group of developing nations met in Brazil on Sunday, calling for reform of traditional Western institutions while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateral diplomacy in an increasingly fractured world.

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive “America First” approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, expansion of the BRICS has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.

In his opening remarks at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War’s Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted formally joining either side of a polarized global order.

“BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement,” Lula told leaders. “With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again.”

BRICS nations now represent more than half the world’s population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders warning of rising protectionism.

The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as members. This is the first summit of leaders to include Indonesia.

“The vacuum left by others ends up being filled almost instantly by the BRICS,” said a Brazilian diplomat who asked not to be named. Although the G7 still concentrates vast power, the diplomat added, “it doesn’t have the predominance it once did.”

However, there are questions about the shared goals of an increasingly heterogeneous BRICS group, which has grown to include regional rivals along with major emerging economies.

Stealing some thunder from this year’s summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his prime minister in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

Still, several heads of state gathered for discussions at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

More than 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.

GROWING CLOUT, COMPLEXITY

Expansion of the BRICS has added diplomatic weight to the gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund.

“If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date,” Lula said in his opening remarks.

Lula defended the integrity of Iran’s borders, two weeks after the country was bombed by the United States, and highlighted the failure of U.S.-led wars in the Middle East.

The BRICS nations will also continue their thinly veiled criticism of Trump’s U.S. tariff policy, according to diplomats drafting a joint statement. In April, the bloc’s foreign ministers voiced concern about “unjustified unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate increase of reciprocal tariffs.”

Brazil, which also hosts the United Nations climate summit in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while Trump has slammed the brakes on U.S. climate initiatives.

China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding conservation of endangered forests around the world.

The growth of the bloc has also increased the challenges to reaching consensus on contentious geopolitical issues.

Ahead of the summit, negotiators struggled to find shared language for a joint statement about the bombardment of Gaza, the Israel-Iran conflict and a proposed reform of the Security Council, two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

To overcome differences among African nations regarding the representation on a reformed Security Council, the group agreed to endorse seats for Brazil and India while leaving open which country should represent Africa’s interests, a person familiar with the talks told Reuters.