In a world where geopolitical certainties are steadily eroding, the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a potent reminder that alternative visions of global governance are not only possible, they are increasingly imperative. The July 6-7 summit under Brazil’s presidency is more than a ceremonial gathering of emerging economies. It is a crucible in which the blueprint of a new world order will be forged.
The six-pillar agenda of the summit reflects both the group’s ambitions and the anxieties of our time: a more efficient BRICS payment system to boost trade and investment; inclusive and ethical governance of artificial intelligence (AI); a climate agenda to recalibrate the politics of climate finance; deeper cooperation in public health; global reform of the multilateral peace system; and actions to improve institutional structure and cohesion. These are the building blocks in BRICS’ effort to push back against a global system that remains skewed in favor of a few.
Consider first the ambition of a BRICS payment system. It has long been evident that the dominance of the U.S. dollar in global transactions is a tool of leverage. Washington’s ability to unilaterally impose sanctions or freeze assets across continents is rooted in this monetary hegemony. The creation of a BRICS-centric mechanism – whether through a digital currency, a SWIFT alternative or a multilateral clearinghouse – will dilute that dominance. It is not an attack on the dollar, but a hedge against the weaponization of finance.
The governance of artificial intelligence is another arena where the norms are being written mostly by tech giants and regulators in the West, creating AI that is neither neutral nor borderless. Its biases can reinforce existing inequalities with serious implications for the Global South.
BRICS, therefore, seeks to offer a counternarrative: AI governance that is inclusive, sovereign, and anchored in the developmental needs of emerging economies. In May, China stressed the need to harmonize standards across BRICS nations in response to concerns over AI ethics, positioning the bloc as an active player in shaping global AI governance frameworks. Brazil’s own Artificial Intelligence Plan, launched in 2024, emphasizes social development and inclusivity – concepts conspicuously absent in Silicon Valley’s discourse. The bloc members are establishing regional data centers to ensure digital sovereignty. The hope is that Rio will solidify these initiatives into a coherent framework.
Climate finance remains a sore point for the South. Despite lofty pledges at successive Conference of the Parties summits, Western funding for green transition in developing nations continues to fall far short. The BRICS climate agenda aims to change that. Rather than waiting for assistance, BRICS nations are now investing in green infrastructure, backed by the New Development Bank (NDB) and bilateral arrangements.
The headquarters of the BRICS New Development Bank in east China’s Shanghai, December 17, 2020
In 2024, the NDB set a target for 40 percent of its approved financing between 2022 and 2026 to go toward climate change related projects, while also integrating climate risk measures into project designs and tracking climate finance annually. China has long worked to advance green development of the Belt and Road Initiative, incorporating climate resilience into infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia and Africa. New BRICS member Indonesia positions itself as a renewable energy hub, leveraging both Chinese financing and domestic innovation. These are acts of climate sovereignty.
The final pillar – public health – recalls the bitter lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine inequity, supply chain bottlenecks, and health infrastructure gaps disproportionately affected the Global South. In response, the BRICS nations are now deepening cooperation on vaccine research, pharmaceutical production, and pandemic preparedness. India and South Africa are leading efforts to create a BRICS pharmaceutical consortium, while Brazil’s Fiocruz Institute plays a key role in tropical disease surveillance.
The message is clear: Whether in health or finance, climate or AI, BRICS seeks not to replace the global order but to rebalance it. That distinction is critical, especially in an age when every move away from Western orthodoxy is projected as defiance or discord. The enlargement of BRICS in Southeast Asia – marked by Indonesia’s accession and the partnership status of Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand – adds further momentum to this rebalancing.
Asia, now home to more than half of BRICS’ expanded membership, is no longer merely the world’s factory. It is the crucible of connectivity, from high-speed railways linking Laos to Malaysia, to digital corridors that stretch from Jakarta to Johannesburg. As infrastructure integrates and policy aligns, the notion of South-South cooperation is gaining concrete form.
To be sure, BRICS is not without contradictions. Border disputes, political rivalries and diverging economic models persist. Yet it is precisely this heterogeneity that makes the group’s cohesion noteworthy. In a world splintering into ideological silos, BRICS is advancing a model of pragmatic pluralism.
As Brazil hosts the summit in Rio, the question is not whether BRICS will dethrone the existing order. It is whether, in a time of fracturing trust and rising protectionism, it can offer something more durable: a vision of cooperation that is not conditional, and of progress that is not prescribed.
That vision may still be under construction – but in Rio, at least, the scaffolding is visibly rising.
Imran Khalid is a writer and analyst specialising in international affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of The Southern African Times.
