The sixteenth BRICS summit took place in Kazan, Russia from October 22 to October 24, 2024, in a way competing for public attention with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC. International reactions to the summit have understandably differed. Many developing countries the gathering as a step forward in cooperation on reforming the current international economic and financial system. They feel that the existing system has failed to meet their development needs and must change. By contrast, many Western observers see BRICS as a heterogeneous group of countries with different interests—all about symbolism with no concrete actions.

It is a mistake for the West to dismiss the power of symbolism and narratives in the geopolitical competition for global influence. The BRICS summit has also produced noteworthy results that the international community should be aware of.

First, Vladimir Putin chaired a successful summit involving thirty-six countries, most of which were represented by heads of state. In doing so, the Russian president showed that he has not been isolated in the international arena by the West following his invasion of Ukraine. Instead, he has deepened relationships with Global South countries through BRICS and other initiatives such as riding the anti-colonial wave to make headways in western Africa. Equally importantly, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the summit. They did so mere days after announcing a pact to resolve their border conflicts, which have been a major irritant in their bilateral relationship. Their meeting helped raise the stature of the BRICS summit as a venue where important political discourse can take place.

Last but not least, with many countries reportedly wanting to join, BRICS has invited 13 thirteen nations to be partner countries-they will continue discussions with a view to formal membership. The list of partner countries—confirmed by several senior officials, but not officially specified in the Kazan Declaration—includes Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. It is unclear which of these countries will eventually decide to become formal members. Saudi Arabia, for example, was invited to join last year but has not yet decided, though its officials have attended BRICS meetings since then. The inclusion of priority countries for the West, such as Turkey (a NATO member) and four important ASEAN countries, should concern policymakers. Many developing countries have found BRICS a useful forum for a variety of reasons, including diversifying international relationships and expanding trade opportunities.

The Kazan Declaration, released at the end of the summit, covers a wide range of issues. The Declaration avoids any direct mention of the United States, hostile or otherwise. Some Western analysts had raised that doing so could make moderate members like India and Brazil uncomfortable, especially given the anti-Western tilt of the group’s expanded membership. The Declaration focuses on promoting multipolarity and a more representative and fairer international system. These goals remain the common denominator attracting many countries to BRICS.

The Declaration supports initiatives and groups developed to coordinate and promote the views of BRICS members and countries in the Global South in international fora, including the United Nations (UN) and the Group of Twenty. These groupings cover issues from sustainable development to climate finance, and call for settling the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

In particular, BRICS will intensify ongoing efforts to promote settlements of cross-border trade and investment transactions in local currencies by establishing BRICS Clear as an independent cross-border settlement and depository infrastructure. Doing so would help facilitate the use of local currencies. It will also launch the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism to promote innovative financial practices, including financing in local currencies. Many developing countries are interested in using local currencies more frequently given their limited access to US dollar funding.

The group’s decision to form an informal consultative framework on World Trade Organization (WTO) issues to engage more actively in the debates about reforming the WTO is also noteworthy. This section of the Declaration includes opposition to the use of unilateral economic sanctions and discriminatory carbon border adjustment mechanisms. Taking advantage of the fact that BRICS members constitute the largest producers of natural resources in the world, the group also pledges to jointly promote its interests throughout the value chains of mineral production against the backdrop of increased demand for critical minerals for the energy transition. The geopolitics of the energy transition could open an opportunity for mineral-rich developing countries to coordinate their mineral policies and join the superpowers in their search for reliable supply chains of critical minerals.

Overall, BRICS has attracted interest from many developing countries—now boasting nine members and thirteen partner countries. The collective share of its members’ population and gross domestic product has surpassed that of the Group of Seven (G7). However, expansion comes at a cost. Building consensus among more diverse members is increasingly complex, and expansion plans could remain a point of contention within the group. For example, Venezuela had reportedly been kept out of the list of partner countries due to Brazil’s objection.

Despite this challenge, key members of BRICS have successfully developed common positions among Global South countries in international fora in recent years. Their joint effort to demand a loss and damages fund at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 is one example. Additionally, BRICS members have collaborated with Global South countries to work for the adoption of the UN mandate in August 2024 to negotiate a UN tax convention, which covers taxation of multinational corporations and wealthy individuals. BRICS countries also consistently promote governance reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions. The more BRICS can develop and articulate common views among Global South countries, the more it can be regarded as the counterpart of the G7 (representing developed countries) at international fora and in the public domain.

Importantly, BRICS’ flagship project—promoting the use of local currencies to settle cross-border trade and investment transactions—is gradually gathering momentum. China, for example, has increased the share of the renminbi when settling its cross-border transactions from 48 percent (surpassing the US dollar) in mid-2023 to more than 50 percent in mid-2024.

In short, BRICS—or BRICS-plus as some observers and officials have referred to the expanded group—is here to stay. Other countries, including Western ones, need to figure out how to deal with it.

Hung Tran is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, a former executive managing director at the Institute of International Finance and a former deputy director at the International Monetary Fund.

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Image: BRICS summit or meeting concept. Row from flags of all members of BRICS list of countries. 3d illustration