BRICS 2025 Wraps Up with Major Global Reform Agenda

The BRICS Summit of 2025 ended with member countries signing the "Rio de Janeiro Declaration" demanding sweeping reforms in world governance, increased cooperation on climate finance, digital oversight, and economic resilience. Under the theme "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance," the summit reaffirmed BRICS' increasing desire to shape multilateral decision-making.

The bloc — including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and other more recent additions — insisted on structural reforms within institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, IMF, and World Bank to better capture the growing power of emerging economies. "We reaffirm our commitment to multilateralism and respect for international law," read the declaration.

Key Highlights-

• BRICS signs Rio Declaration urging UN, IMF, and World Bank reforms to reflect emerging economy interests
• Bloc agrees on joint climate finance framework and global AI governance cooperation
• India emphasizes health equity; BRICS backs food security, digital economy, and industrial innovation

Climate finance was high on the agenda, with members adopting a Framework Declaration to facilitate secure and accessible funding for sustainable development. In another significant development, the bloc also agreed to regulate Artificial Intelligence collectively as well as encourage responsible technology governance.

India placed focus on health as a key area of cooperation, undertaking stronger partnerships to eradicate socially determined illnesses and supporting the WHO pandemic treaty. "Health equity and preparedness are now at the heart of our common agenda," a delegate from India stated.

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In economic issues, the summit suggested the establishment of a BRICS Multilateral Guarantee Agency within the New Development Bank to reduce the risk of financing infrastructure. The group also talked of curbing dependency on Western payment systems to increase financial sovereignty.

Other important achievements involved the establishment of a BRICS Centre for Industrial Competence with UNIDO and a Startup Knowledge Hub. Agriculture and food security were covered through the approval of a BRICS Grain Exchange and encouragement of climate-resilient agriculture.