Under Brazil’s rotating presidency, the 17th BRICS Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro on July 6–7, 2025, under the official theme: “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.”
The message was clear: to promote greater institutional, financial, and technological autonomy for member states and their partners in the context of a historic moment marked by profound changes and multiple global crises.
Opening the most widely attended BRICS summit to date, host President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared: “We cannot continue with multilateral organizations operating as they did when they were first created.”
According to Lula, institutional innovation is essential for meaningful progress. He stressed that “with multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is once again at risk.” He also warned that the delay in reforming the United Nations Security Council—an institution that is not even consulted before major military actions—has contributed to growing global instability and insecurity.
“The unipolar system of international relations that served the interests of the so-called ‘golden billion’ is becoming a relic of the past. It is being replaced by a fairer, multipolar order,” said the President of the Russian Federation in a video address during the opening session.
One of the most widely discussed speeches came from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who described the 2025 BRICS Summit as a historic turning point in the ongoing pursuit of postcolonial justice. For Anwar, the challenge lies not in rhetoric or theory, but in practical implementation—in trade, monetary sovereignty, and technological parity.
BRICS now comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Rio de Janeiro Declaration announced the addition of ten new official partner countries from various regions of the world: Belarus, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
Together, these nations represent over 55% of the world’s population, around 40% of global trade, and approximately 30% of global nominal GDP—rising to 45% when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2025.
By comparison, the G7 countries account for around 31% of global PPP GDP as of the same year.
Other countries, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bahrain—and previously Venezuela—have expressed interest in joining the group. Meanwhile, countries such as Colombia have been accepted as partner institutions to the BRICS bank. Additionally, newly developed financial exchange mechanisms will allow many nations to engage with BRICS initiatives without requiring full membership or official partnership status.
The summit produced an extensive joint declaration covering a wide range of themes, along with separate statements on issues such as climate finance, socially determined diseases, and the BRICS Leaders’ Declaration on Global Artificial Intelligence Governance.
The Rio de Janeiro Declaration — dated July 6, 2025 — includes a dedicated section on artificial intelligence (AI), recognizing it as “a unique opportunity to advance development towards a more prosperous future.” However, it also emphasizes the urgent need for a global governance framework—currently lacking—that can mitigate associated risks while addressing the specific needs of the Global South. The declaration positions the United Nations at the center of such an institutional framework.
Given the significance of the topic, the document announces the launch of the “BRICS Leaders’ Declaration on Global AI Governance”, aimed at promoting the responsible development, deployment, and use of AI technologies to support sustainable development and inclusive growth. This must occur within the framework of national regulations, in alignment with the UN Charter, and with full respect for national sovereignty.
The declaration asserts that AI should be leveraged to foster more equitable development, boost productivity, encourage innovation, enhance sustainability, and improve quality of life on a global scale. It calls for collective international efforts—centered on the United Nations—to establish governance structures based on shared values, equitable access, and full participation by developing countries.
Key principles include digital sovereignty and the right to development, fair access to technology, promotion of open science, universal accessibility, and international cooperation to enhance transparency and equity in AI systems.
Importantly, the declaration emphasizes the need to examine the content and design of AI systems, including ethical, cultural, and discriminatory dimensions. The signatory countries underscore the importance of ethical, transparent, and accountable governance, with strong respect for the linguistic, cultural, racial, geographic, and demographic diversity of all nations.
The declaration also calls for robust tools to identify and mitigate algorithmic errors and biases, as well as independent auditing mechanisms to safeguard fairness. A notable innovation is the emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration among experts from diverse backgrounds to establish standards and create practical strategies that guard against harmful biases and promote responsible, inclusive AI development.
Another significant advancement—reflecting a rights-based perspective on technology—is the declaration’s explicit reference to decent work.
The relevant section is titled: “AI Must Ensure Decent Work and Higher Productivity.”
In the labor domain, AI is seen as a tool for improving productivity—not intensifying work—within a framework of decent work, which includes labor rights and social protections in accordance with international standards and the legal systems of most countries.
Strikingly, the declaration focuses less on the potential job losses caused by automation, digitization, or AI itself, and more on the working conditions of those who are, and will continue to be, employed in the AI and digital sectors.
While a political declaration of this scope does not provide detailed prescriptions, it offers a clear conceptual direction:
“…to protect the rights and well-being of all workers, especially those directly impacted by digital transformation, taking into account the rapid growth of digital platforms and the increasing structural impact of AI—including generative AI—on labor markets.”
The declaration concludes with a firm commitment to promote these and other shared approaches in international forums, supporting the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the creation of an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, ensuring the meaningful participation of developing countries in shaping the future of global AI governance.