While this Declaration is timely and music to many, and at first glance looks impressive and ambitious, a closer reading reveals its limited substance. Instead of providing new solutions, many of the clauses reiterate past positions and lack substantive commitment
If one were to go solely by the Declaration of the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro without context, the Summit appears to be a roaring success. It hit the right notes on cooperation, projecting a cohesive voice for the Global South, and standing up to the Global North with calls for radical economic and governance reform. With the Declaration spanning over 100 clauses that cover the BRICS pillars of political and security, economic and financial, cultural and people-to-people cooperation, the Declaration at first glance appears both extensive and impressive. However, beneath the rhetoric, the document essentially reiterates past positions, which lack substance and fail to provide a clear roadmap for implementation.
The core of the BRICS agenda has been to position and present itself as an alliance to counter Western dominance and advance Global South cooperation. The Declaration recognises the need for progressive tax reform to help reduce inequality. However, it limits itself to the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, while missing the opportunity to discuss and develop other mechanisms for just taxation, such as global corporate tax or programmes for regional tax cooperation among BRICS+ countries.
The Declaration raises alarm about an increase in global military spending. It also reiterated BRICS’ commitment to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue, consultation, and diplomacy. It condemned the military strikes against Iran, a member of BRICS, in particular on ‘peaceful nuclear facilities’. It called it a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, as well as relevant resolutions of the IAEA.
It raised grave concern about the continuous Israeli attacks against Gaza, obstruction of the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory, and use of starvation as a method of warfare, and called for adherence to international law. It called for negotiations to achieve an “immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and all other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
Taking the US tariff regime by its horns, it raised serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures. That, and several trade cooperations on agriculture, fisheries, and aquaculture, and digital infrastructure, among others, have invited an immediate and (now) predictable response from President Trump, threatening to impose a 10 percent additional tariff on nations backing ‘anti-American’ BRICS.
The Declaration also acknowledges the high debt levels in some countries, which reduce the fiscal space needed to address ongoing development challenges as well as resolving to remain united in the pursuit of the purpose and goals of the Paris Agreement, at a time when the Trump Administration withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord, reversing prior US commitments to global climate action.
While this Declaration is timely and music to many, and at first glance looks impressive and ambitious, a closer reading reveals its limited substance. Instead of providing new solutions, many of the clauses reiterate past positions and lack substantive commitment. For example, from 2012 to 2023, six BRICS summit declarations—hosted in New Delhi (2012, 2021), Ufa (2015), Moscow (2020), Beijing (2022), and Kazan (2023)—have explicitly demanded reforms in multilateral institutions, including the UN Security Council, IMF, WTO, and related bodies. The demand did not go any further. With 45 percent of the global population and over 35 percent of the world’s GDP, this Declaration does not outline how they intend to leverage the power of this alliance to achieve something differently this time.
Across this and previous Declarations, importance and centrality are placed on Western-led institutions, rather than creating mechanisms for autonomy and leverage or developing alternative frameworks.
Countries like India, which try to tread two paths simultaneously—being the ‘Voice of Global South’ and maintaining good relations with the United States regime—weaken the ability of BRICS to stand upright. India seemed to have sleepwalked into the Declaration. After abstaining from a UNGA resolution calling for “immediate, unconditional, lasting ceasefire in Gaza” and refusing to sign the SCO statement condemning Israel’s military strikes on Iran, both in June 2025, India’s signing the BRICS statement, which is unequivocal on both issues, is either because its sleepwalking into it or for the FOMO effect.
Persisting with this trend of contradiction, India continues to strengthen economic and security ties with Western allies. Despite the emphasis of the Declaration on multipolarity and South-South solidarity, India’s growing relations with powers such as the US, the UK, Israel, and other countries in the EU suggest otherwise, with India even hosting the QUAD dialogue in 2025. Many of India’s actions contravene the commitments in the Declaration. For example, the current talks between India and the US, which could potentially open up India’s agricultural sector, oppose the commitment to protecting farmers and food systems. These contradictions in India and other countries also contribute to the alliance’s inability to function as a powerful bloc.
Seventeen years into its formation, it is clear that BRICS+ must evolve beyond mere words and commitments to consider meaningful reform. Within the current geopolitical context, this need becomes more urgent than ever. With India set to assume the BRICS+ presidency in 2026, it has an opportunity to implement the 17th BRICS Declaration into practice.
This article was originally published in The New Indian Express and can be read here.
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