The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the margins of G8 Outreach Summit in July 2006. Shortly afterwards, in September 2006, the group was formalised as BRIC during the 1st BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which met on the sidelines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly in New York City.

After a series of high level meetings, the 1st BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia on 16 June 2009.

BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in September 2010. Accordingly, South Africa attended the 3rd BRICS Summit in Sanya, China on 14 April 2011.

BRICS is an important grouping bringing together the major emerging economies from the world, comprising 41% of the world population*, having 24% of the world GDP* and over 16% share in the world trade*. BRICS countries have been the main engines of global economic growth over the years. Over a period of time, BRICS countries have come together to deliberate on important issues under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial and cultural and people to people exchanges.

* Based on World Bank data (2019)