Archive · 11 Sep 2026
BRICS Faces Test of Turning Expansion Into Effective Cooperation
BRICS is a group of countries that wants to work together on development and global issues.
It has grown larger, with 11 full members and 10 partner countries.
More members give the group a stronger voice, but they can also make agreement harder.
India wants BRICS to focus less on making announcements and more on completing projects.
The group could let some members cooperate on specific projects without requiring everyone to agree on everything.
Possible projects include easier digital payments, better infrastructure, food and energy cooperation, and technology standards.
BRICS also wants to give developing countries more influence in global institutions.
The upcoming summit will show whether the larger group can work effectively together.
BRICS now includes 11 full members and 10 partner countries, increasing its reach and coordination challenges.
India’s chairship has produced five joint declarations, three new centres or platforms, and a memorandum on standardisation.
The group must balance further enlargement with consensus, institutional preparedness, and the ability to deliver results.
The article proposes flexible cooperation, economic complementarity, stronger development finance, and practical crisis-response initiatives.
The September 12-13 summit in India will test whether BRICS can convert its expanded membership into lasting institutional capacity.
- Who
- BRICS members and partner countries, led during this period by India as chair.
- What
- The grouping is seeking to turn its expanded membership and economic weight into effective institutions, practical cooperation, and measurable results.
- When
- India is preparing to host the 18th Summit on September 12-13; the article refers to its outcome as the test of the 2026 Summit.
- Where
- The summit will be hosted by India.
- Why
- Expansion has increased BRICS’s global reach but also made consensus and implementation more difficult.
Faster Enlargement
Calibrated Expansion
Membership Growth
Faster Enlargement
Russia and China have generally favoured faster enlargement to increase BRICS’s representation and reach.
Calibrated Expansion
India and Brazil have preferred a more measured approach, including the partner-country model, to protect consensus and institutional effectiveness.
Global Role
Faster Enlargement
BRICS should use its growing weight to give the Global South greater strategic voice and reshape global economic governance.
Calibrated Expansion
BRICS should pursue reform without becoming an anti-Western bloc or replacing the existing multilateral order.
Decision-Making
Faster Enlargement
A larger grouping can advance broad cooperation across development, trade, finance, technology, and infrastructure.
Calibrated Expansion
Members should use variable geometry, allowing smaller coalitions to pursue practical projects where interests converge rather than requiring uniform agreement.
- Full members
- 11 countries
- Partner countries
- 10 countries
- India’s chairship output
- Five joint declarations, three new centres or platforms, and a memorandum on standardisation during the first eight months
- Summit dates
- September 12-13
- Proposed cooperation areas
- Digital payments, artificial intelligence standards, critical minerals, infrastructure, food, energy, logistics, and innovation
- Existing institutions
- The New Development Bank, Contingent Reserve Arrangement, Sherpa process, ministerial structures, Business Council, and academic networks