BRICS Expands Economic Strategy Under India's 2026 Chairship
The BRICS grouping is advancing a 2030 economic partnership and non-dollar currency use to challenge Western-led global financial systems under India's 2026 leadership.
The Government of India is leading the BRICS grouping as the 2026 chair, shifting the organization's focus toward practical economic cooperation. Central to this effort is the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030 and the internationalization of micro, small, and medium enterprises. During the 16th BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur, India advocated for a multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization.
Over two decades, the grouping has transitioned from an informal economic dialogue into a geopolitical platform. While BRICS economies represented nearly 40% of global GDP on a purchasing power parity basis in 2024, intra-group trade remains low at approximately 5% of global trade. The Government of China serves as the primary trading anchor for the group.
To reduce reliance on the Bretton Woods framework and mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions, the organization established the New Development Bank and is promoting the use of non-dollar currencies. This shift follows the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where leaders issued the Rio Declaration and backed local-currency financing. Politically, the group continues to demand reforms in the governance of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to increase the influence of the Global South.
