BRICS began as a 2001 Goldman Sachs investment acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China, became a real diplomatic forum from 2006, and expanded to 11 full m…
Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill grouped Brazil, Russia, India and China together in a November 2001 research paper, arguing their combined growth could eventually ri…
Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China held an informal meeting on the sidelines of the 61st UN General Assembly on 23 September 2006, agreeing to hold ann…
Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China met for the first BRIC Leaders' Summit on 16 June 2009, issuing a joint declaration amid the fallout of the 2008-09 global fin…
South Africa, invited in December 2010, formally joined as the fifth member at the third summit in Sanya on 13 April 2011 - the moment BRIC became BRICS and gained its f…
At the Fortaleza Summit on 15 July 2014, the five founders signed treaties creating the New Development Bank ($100B authorised capital, Shanghai HQ) and the Contingent R…
On 24 August 2023, South Africa announced six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - were invited to join from January 2024. More than…
The 2023 invitations took effect. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE became full members. Saudi Arabia's invitation stayed open, but Riyadh never publicly confirmed forma…
On 6 January 2025, Indonesia became BRICS' 10th full member and the first from Southeast Asia - Southeast Asia's largest economy, a G20 member, with strategically import…
In May 2026, BRICS foreign ministers in New Delhi failed to agree a joint statement over the Iran-UAE rift; India issued a chair's statement instead. Now, as 2026 chair,…
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