BRICS leaders adopt declaration at 17th summit

A plenary session of the BRICS summit on the theme of "Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance" was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted the final declaration.

The meeting was opened by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In his speech, he recalled that this was the fourth time the country had hosted the summit.

"If global governance does not correspond to the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, then the task of BRICS is to promote its renewal. The representativeness and diversity of the association make it a force that promotes peace [...]. We can lay the foundation for a renewed system of global governance"

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva President of Brazil

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the summit via videoconference. He emphasised that BRICS' authority and influence in the world is growing year by year.

"Our group has expanded significantly and includes leading countries in Eurasia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Together, we have truly enormous political, economic, scientific, technological, and human potential"

Vladimir Putin President of Russia

The Russian leader stated the need to expand the use of national currencies in mutual settlements. According to him, the creation of an independent settlement and depository system within BRICS will make currency transactions faster, more efficient and safer. This is also reflected in the final declaration.

"We welcome the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) focus on facilitating and expanding innovative financial practices and approaches for projects and programmes, including finding acceptable mechanisms of financing in local currencies," the document says.

Putin also noted the importance of Brazil continuing to work on the implementation of Russian initiatives proposed in 2024, including the BRICS Grain Exchange, a climate research centre, a permanent logistics platform and sports cooperation programmes. He expressed confidence that the final declaration of the BRICS summit would create a good basis for further joint activities in the spirit of equal cooperation.

In the document, the leaders called for reform of the UN Security Council. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stated the need for this in his speech at the plenary session.

"The expansion of BRICS and the accession of new partners to the group is proof that this is an association capable of changing over time. Now we need to show the same determination in reforming other institutions, including the UN Security Council, the WTO and multilateral development banks"

Narendra Modi Indian Prime Minister

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed a similar point of view. In addition, he noted that the expansion of BRICS opens up new opportunities for strengthening mutual trade, technological exchange and cooperation in the field of green economy.

Ramaphosa paid special attention to the fight against terrorism, emphasising that South Africa is committed to the full implementation of the BRICS strategy to counter terrorism. In the declaration, the leaders also condemned the terrorist attack in India on 22 April 2025, which killed 26 people, and called for the speedy finalisation and adoption by the UN of a comprehensive convention on combating international terrorism.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the priority areas for cooperation among the ten countries: economic integration, energy, infrastructure and financial cooperation, including settlements in national currencies, strengthening the role of the New Development Bank of BRICS, and new technologies.

The latter point, namely the development of artificial intelligence (AI), received special attention in the final declaration.

"To support a constructive debate towards a more balanced approach, we agreed on the BRICS Leaders’ Statement on the Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence, which aims to foster responsible development, deployment, and use of AI technologies for sustainable development and inclusive growth," the document emphasises.

In addition, the member countries recognised the importance of continuing work on the BRICS Grain Exchange initiative, agreed to establish the BRICS Space Council and expressed their support for India's Presidency of the group in 2026 and the hosting of the 18th BRICS summit.

Photo: Alexandre Durao / Brics Brasil ( flickr.com)