New Delhi: The ongoing BRICS summit, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Bharat Mandapam, highlights a massive structural evolution for the geopolitical bloc. What began as an exclusive group of five emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has rapidly expanded its global footprint over the last three years. Today, the organisation operates with 11 full member nations and a newly established tier of 10 ‘partner countries’.
The bloc’s initial expansion strategy took shape during the 2024 Johannesburg summit, which paved the way for Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to join as full members. Indonesia formally secured its full membership shortly after in January 2025, bringing the primary roster to 11 nations.
However, as the bloc’s economic influence grew, so did international interest. Ahead of the 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia, nearly 35 nations expressed a strong desire to join BRICS. Recognising that absorbing several countries as full members simultaneously was administratively and diplomatically impractical, the leadership devised a middle ground by creating the partner country category.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian President, previously noted that invitations for this new tier were extended to 13 nations, with nine immediately accepting the offer. On January 1, 2025, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan officially became partner countries. Vietnam followed suit in June 2025, completing the current list of 10 partners.
The distinction between a full member and a partner country lies fundamentally in their diplomatic rights and privileges. Full members enjoy unrestricted access to all BRICS forums, strategic meetings, and decision-making processes. They hold direct stakes in the bloc’s financial arms, such as the New Development Bank (NDB), and possess consensus power on crucial resolutions.
In contrast, partner countries operate with a more restricted mandate. While they are invited to participate in select key dialogues, their presence in broader sessions depends entirely on the “consultation and consensus” of the full members. Crucially, partner nations do not hold decisive voting or veto rights within the organisation.
This two-tier system allows BRICS to steadily expand its geopolitical leverage across the Global South while ensuring that core decision-making remains streamlined among its primary members.