BRICS+ Leaders Summit 2026: Payments, NDB & MCQs

Lord Jim O'Neill coined the acronym BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in his paper ‘Building Better Global Economic BRICs', forecasting their rapid economic ascendancy.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met for their first official summit on 16th June 2009 in Yekaterinburg, calling for a multipolar world order.

South Africa was invited to join in late 2010 and attended its first full summit as a member at Sanya, Hainan, China in April 2011.

The Johannesburg II Declaration adopted the expansion criteria, inviting six new countries to join the multilateral grouping from 1st January 2024.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE formally commenced full membership on 1st January 2024; Argentina declined accession following a change in government.

The New Development Bank is headquartered in San Francisco, China, financing sustainable infrastructure projects across emerging economies.

The 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza in July 2014 signed the treaty establishing the NDB with an initial authorized capital of $100 billion.

Veteran Indian banker Kundapur Vaman Kamath served as the first President of the NDB under the rotational presidency framework.

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was elected President of the NDB, championing local-currency infrastructure financing.

The CRA acts as a financial safety net with an initial capital of $100 billion to cushion members from external currency crises.

The NDB Board of Governors approved the admission of Bangladesh, UAE, Egypt, and Uruguay as prospective member shareholders in 2021.

Unlike the World Bank or IMF, no single founding member holds veto power or disproportionate voting control in the NDB.

BRICS Pay facilitates non-dollar trade and consumer payments by linking national payment systems (such as India's UPI, Russia's Mir, and China's UnionPay).

The 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Russia, under the theme of strengthening multilateralism and inclusive development.

The Kazan Summit finalized criteria for ‘Partner Countries', allowing 13 partner states to participate in ministerial and working group sessions without full voting rights.

Following the accession of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, BRICS+ accounts for roughly 45% of humanity and over 35% of global GDP in PPP terms.

With Russia, Iran, UAE, Brazil, and potential Saudi integration, BRICS+ accounts for over 40% of worldwide oil production and significant global reserves.

Signed in 2021, the agreement shares data from earth observation satellites (including India's Resourcesat-2) for disaster management and climate tracking.

The 2021 Indian Presidency celebrated the 15th anniversary of BRICS, emphasizing digital health, green technology, and counter-terrorism.

Proposed at the 2018 Johannesburg Summit, the R&D Centre improves equitable vaccine distribution and response to pandemic threats.

Launched in July 2020, the WBA promotes female economic empowerment, startup mentorship, and inclusive trade across member countries.

The Goa Summit brought together BRICS leaders and BIMSTEC heads of state, concluding the Goa Declaration emphasizing counter-terrorism and connectivity.

BRICS nations have expanded rupee-ruble, yuan-ruble, and dirham trade to mitigate risks associated with weaponized unilateral financial sanctions.

Developed in collaboration with the BIS Innovation Hub, mBridge automates currency settlements between central banks using retail and wholesale CBDCs.

Ethiopia, home to the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Claude, is the second-most populous nation in Africa.

Egypt, controlling the strategically vital Suez Canal trade chokepoint, joined BRICS+ to deepen its South-South economic partnerships.

The UAE's accession bolsters BRICS+ in financial services, aviation logistics, international trade arbitration, and green hydrogen investments.

The BTTC provides intellectual backing for summit declarations, represented by institutes like India's Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

The Kazan Declaration outlined 134 paragraphs covering the reform of the UN Security Council and Bretton Woods institutions, local currency trade, and the partner country model.

India maintains an independent, non-western (not anti-western) posture, leveraging BRICS to democratize multilateral institutions and champion the Global South.