from VANSHIKA CHAUDHARY in New Delhi, India
Special Contributor
NEW DELHI, (CAJ News) – THE 18th BRICS Summit has ended with the expanded grouping signalling a stronger role for the Global South in shaping the global economy, international governance and the future of multilateral cooperation.
Leaders adopted the New Delhi Declaration after intensive negotiations, reaffirming their commitment to a more representative, fairer and multipolar international system centred on international law and the United Nations.
The summit demonstrated the growing economic weight of BRICS.
The expanded grouping represents about half of the world’s population and around 40 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), giving it substantial influence over trade, investment, energy, technology and development.
Rather than pursuing a single BRICS currency, leaders backed practical measures to make trade and investment easier, including greater use of national currencies and improved cross-border payment systems.
The New Development Bank is also being encouraged to expand local-currency financing, strengthening the ability of developing economies to fund infrastructure and development without excessive dependence on traditional financial institutions.
The summit also placed technology at the heart of BRICS cooperation.
Leaders endorsed greater collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI), digital public infrastructure, science, innovation and industrial development, with particular emphasis on ensuring that developing countries benefit from technological advances.
Health, agriculture, food security, energy, climate change, urban development and skills were also prominent areas of cooperation.
An early-warning system for infectious diseases was among the initiatives highlighted, alongside efforts to strengthen resilient global supply chains.
Politically, the summit showed that BRICS is increasingly becoming a forum through which emerging powers can coordinate positions on major international issues.
Leaders called for dialogue and diplomacy in addressing conflicts, including the escalating crisis in West Asia, while rejecting approaches that undermine international cooperation.
The ability of countries with sometimes sharply differing interests, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to reach consensus was itself significant.
For Africa and the wider Global South, the implications are considerable.
BRICS is pushing for greater representation of developing countries in global institutions, stronger development finance and a greater voice in decisions affecting international trade and finance.
The summit therefore marks another step in BRICS’ evolution from an economic grouping into a broader platform for political coordination, development and global governance.
China will assume the BRICS chairmanship in 2027, continuing a project that increasingly seeks to move developing countries from being rule-takers to becoming active rule-shapers in the international system.
– CAJ News