BRICS at 20 and Beyond

Date: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Time: 8:00 am Rio | 1:00 pm Cape Town & Berlin | 4:30 pm Delhi | 7:00 pm Beijing

The 18th BRICS Summit, hosted by India on 12–13 September 2026, marks the 20th anniversary of a grouping that has evolved from an economic acronym into a major platform in global geopolitics.

With eleven full members and ten partner countries, BRICS is increasingly shaping debates on global governance, financial sovereignty, climate finance, trade, AI governance and reform of institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and UN Security Council. At the same time, the grouping faces significant internal contradictions, including divergent political systems, competing economic interests, climate vulnerabilities and strategic rivalries.

This post summit webinar will assess what the 2026 BRICS Summit delivered, examine whether BRICS is actually evolving into an alternative architecture for global governance, and explore what its evolution means for Europe’s relations with the Global South.

Key questions

• What did the 2026 BRICS Summit deliver, and where did it fall short?

• Is BRICS becoming a genuine alternative architecture for global governance, or primarily a geopolitical instrument of its most powerful members?

• What does the BRICS agenda on climate finance, financial sovereignty, AI governance and multilateral reform mean for countries and communities of the Global South?

• How should Europe recalibrate its engagement with BRICS member states and the broader Global South?

Speakers

Dr. Constantino Xavier
Senior Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi; Non Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution; Visiting Professor, Ashoka University

Dr. Maria Elena Rodriguez
Researcher working across Brazil and Colombia on social rights, human rights, constitutional rights, access to justice and public policy; PhD research at IESP UERJ

Dr. Sithembile Mbete
Executive Director, Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), South Africa; Deputy Chair, South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR)

Dr. Tianjiao Jiang
Associate Professor, Development Institute of Fudan University; Deputy Director, Center for BRICS Studies; Research Fellow, Center for Global AI Innovative Governance

Deborah Düring
Member of the German Bundestag; Foreign Policy Spokesperson, Alliance 90/The Greens

Moderator

Manisha Reuter
Deputy Programme Director, Asia Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

Contact:

Abhishek Chauhan
abhishek.chauhan@in.boell.org