Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS last year.
Key Highlights of Joint Statement
- Reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the framework of BRICS Strategic Partnership under the three pillars of cooperation – politics and security, economy and finance, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
- Supported a comprehensive reform of the United Nations..
- Reiterated their commitment to multilateralism and upholding international law.
About BRICS
- BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) leaders met for the first time, on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006.
- First BRIC summit was held in Russia in 2009.
- It became BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010.
Significance of BRICS for India:
- Voice for developing nations and global south: Platform for India to raise concerns and advocate for rights of developing countries.
- Safe space for dialogue: allows India to resolve mutual differences and use it to strengthen relations with Africa and South America.
- Other: Push for reforms in global institutions & building a more inclusive global financial system.
Challenges with the BRICS:
- divergence between countries with respect to their world view, Internal trust deficit, Overlapping with other groups like IBSA, etc.
Key Initiatives of BRICS
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