While the world balances are redrawing, the summit of the BRICS in Rio has sketched the contours of a more assertive multipolar influence. Behind the remarkable absence of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, discussions led to concrete proposals: reform of international institutions, reinforced climate cooperation, supervision of artificial intelligence. Less spectacular, but more strategic, this edition provides the ambitions of the global southern, while revealing the latent tensions which weaken the coherence of a block in search of credibility.
In short
- The Summit of the BRICS 2025 was held in Rio in a context of strong geopolitical expectations, despite the absence of Putin and Xi Jinping.
- The BRICS published a joint declaration calling for a reform of multilateral institutions, including the UN, the IMF and the World Bank.
- The group supports the entry of Brazil and India to the UN Security Council to strengthen the representativeness of the overall southern.
- The summit marks a growing will of the BRICS to structure a lasting influence on the world's chessboard, without direct confrontation with the West.
Reform the World Order: the South Global Southern Agenda
The Summit of the Brics, held in Rio, led to a joint declaration entitled “Strengthen global South cooperation for more inclusive and sustainable governance”in which the members displayed a renewed desire to rethink the architecture of international governance.
The text In particular, calls to strengthen the representativeness of the global south within the main multilateral institutions. The BRICS explicitly demand that Brazil and India access the status of permanent members of the UN Security Council, stressing the need “Of a reform of the UN system to make it more equitable, efficient and representative”.
Likewise, the declaration insists on the need for rebalancing of decision -making power within the IMF and the World Bank, believing that it is time to “Review the voting rights to reflect current economic realities”.
Beyond institutional claims, the final press release highlights several axes of action shared by the members of the group, reflecting a desire to articulate their diplomatic weight on global issues. The main commitments made at the summit are as follows:
- The climate: adoption of a new framework for cooperation upstream of the COP30, which will be held in Belém in November 2025. This framework aims to harmonize the positions of the Global South on Climate policies and to increase their capacity for influence in international negotiations.
- Technologies: BRICS plead for more inclusive global governance of artificial intelligence, believing that the countries of the South are still too marginalized in strategic discussions on the standards, risks and uses of this technology.
- Peace and security: the text calls for an de -escalation of international tensions, condemning recent attacks on Iranian territory (member of the BRICS) and attacks on Russian civil infrastructure. He also expressed support for lasting peace in the Middle East, especially in Gaza.
By this set of positions, the BRICS seek to impose themselves as a structured collective player, capable of influencing the rules of global game without necessarily opposing Western powers. This diplomatic consolidation strategy constitutes the first step in international autonomy which, to become real, will now have to be embodied in tangible instruments.
A financial alternative in gestation: the promise of the multilateral guarantor BRICS
Beyond political claims, a more discreet, but potentially decisive point emerged from discussions in Rio: the proposal to create an unprecedented device baptized Multilateral Guarantoes.
Inspired by the MIGA model (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency for the World Bank), this project aims to provide investment guarantees for infrastructure and development projects in southern countries.
The objective is clear: to reduce the political risk perceived by international investors and, in doing so, attract more capital in regions still deemed too unstable or not very secure. In the words of the press release, this structure would be intended to “Facilitate investment flows across the Global South, including beyond the perimeter of the countries of the Brics”.
This project is part of a logic of disintermediation vis-à-vis the major Western financial institutions, but without brutal rupture. The press release specifies that it is not a tool reserved for members, paving the way for enlarged cooperation.
This pragmatic approach reflects a form of economic realism: the BRICS, despite their desire for emancipation, are aware of the structural limits of their economies and seek progressive anchoring mechanisms in global circuits. For the moment embryonic, the initiative should be the subject of in -depth discussions until 2026, under the future Indian presidency of the group.
This step towards parallel financial architecture could have medium -term impact on the way in which infrastructure projects are funded in the South. If it is materialized, the initiative could offer a real alternative to the guarantees provided by Western donors, while strengthening the economic credibility of the BRICS. However, its success will depend on many factors: the volume of financial commitments, governance methods and the ability to maintain cohesion between members with sometimes divergent interests. India, which will chair the group in 2026, will have the heavy task of bringing this ambition to maturation.
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