BRICS Faces Internal Strains Ahead of New Delhi Summit
The expanded BRICS bloc, now with 10 core members and 10 partner countries, is experiencing internal discord, including disputes over U.N. Security Council reform among its African members. As leaders prepare for the 18th annual summit in New Delhi on September 12, questions about the group's future direction and effectiveness are mounting. Host India has promoted a resilience-focused agenda, but rapid expansion and limited tangible outcomes have raised doubts about the bloc's cohesion.
The bloc's expansion to 10 core members and 10 partner countries has introduced new friction points. Egypt and Ethiopia broke prior commitments by refusing to endorse South Africa for a reformed U.N. Security Council seat, leading to the first-ever failure of a BRICS foreign ministers' joint statement in September 2024, repeated in April 2025. The subsequent Rio summit declaration omitted South Africa from its UNSC reform paragraph, mentioning only Brazil and India.
The 2026 U.S.-Israel-Iran war, which drew in the UAE, further strained cohesion. Iran pushed for BRICS condemnations to include "state terrorism" against the U.S. and Israel, but most members resisted. The May 2026 foreign ministers meeting again failed to produce a joint statement, and acrimonious Iran-UAE exchanges disrupted the national security advisors' session, forcing India to issue a chair's statement instead.
The bloc's internal discord could weaken its credibility as a unified voice for the Global South, potentially diminishing its leverage in multilateral forums. Developing nations may see BRICS as less reliable for advancing shared interests like U.N. reform, while Western policymakers could interpret the fractures as evidence of the grouping's limited durability. The outcome of the New Delhi summit may shape whether partner countries pursue deeper engagement or hedge their diplomatic bets.