Leaders of growing BRICS group gather for annual summit in Rio

Leaders of the growing BRICS group of developing nations were set to gather in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, calling for reform of traditional Western institutions while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateralism in an increasingly fractured world.

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With forums such as the Group of 7 (G7) and Group of 20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive “America First” approach of US President Donald J. Trump, expansion of the BRICS has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.

“In the face of the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging nations to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform the international financial architecture,” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a BRICS business forum on Saturday.

BRICS nations now represent over half the world’s population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted.

The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members. This is the first leaders' summit to include Indonesia.