The BRICS Summit is an annual meeting of the heads of state or government of the BRICS member countries, functioning as a platform for consultation and cooperation on issues of global and regional significance. It is an act of an intergovernmental organization, which is informal in character. The concept of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) was first formalized at a meeting of Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2006. The inaugural BRIC Summit was convened in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. The group was created to foster a more just and equitable global financial and economic order and to advocate for reforms of multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The mechanism of the BRICS Summit involves the annual rotation of the Chairship among members, in accordance with the acronym. At the conclusion of the summit, a formal, consensus-based document called the BRICS Summit Leaders' declaration is issued. Cooperation is structured around three levels: formal diplomatic engagement (Track I), engagement through government-affiliated institutions (Track II), and civil society and people-to-people engagement (Track III). A key related institution is the New Development Bank (NDB), which was proposed at the 2012 BRICS Summit and began operating in July 2014 to provide funding for development projects in emerging economies.
The group has recently undergone significant expansion, which has changed its composition. South Africa joined in 2010, changing the acronym to BRICS. A further expansion took place in 2024, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates becoming full members from January 2024. Indonesia also joined in January 2025. The expansion reflects the group's growing focus on strengthening cooperation among Global South countries and promoting a multipolar world order.