India assumed the BRICS presidency in January this year, with the annual summit scheduled to take place in New Delhi in September. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the first meeting of foreign ministers. Starting with five founding members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — BRICS admitted five new members in 2024: Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia and the UAE. In 2024, BRICS also accepted 13 states from Latin America, Africa, Central Asia and South Asia as “partner countries,” reflecting the global representation of BRICS+.

This article is authored by Pravesh Kumar Gupta, associate fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi.

According to Randhir Jaiswal, invitations have also been sent to several heads of international associations to take part in a BRICS Outreach session