New Delhi | BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors stepped up calls for a bigger voice for emerging economies in global financial institutions as the expanded grouping seeks to build greater economic resilience amid trade fragmentation and geopolitical tensions.
In a joint statement issued after meetings in Jaipur in August and Mumbai on September 10, the ministers and central bank governors said the expanded BRICS membership had strengthened the group's diversity and representativeness and reaffirmed their commitment to closer economic and financial cooperation.
The statement comes as BRICS, under India's 2026 chairship, seeks to translate its growing economic weight into more practical cooperation across payments, development finance, infrastructure, taxation, customs and financial stability.
The grouping now has 11 members - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia, along with Saudi Arabia - representing about 49.5 per cent of the world's population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade, according to official data.
The finance chiefs warned that the global economy faces elevated risks from geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, protectionism, policy uncertainty, fiscal and inflationary pressures, rising debt and financial vulnerabilities.
They expressed "serious concerns" over unilateral tariffs and non-tariff measures, saying such actions distort trade and are inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules.
A central theme of the statement was the longstanding BRICS demand for a restructuring of global economic governance to better reflect the weight of emerging markets and developing economies.
The group called for reforms to the Bretton Woods institutions - principally the International Monetary Fund and World Bank - to make them more representative, transparent, accountable and effective.
"We reiterate the urgent need to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI) to make them more agile, effective, credible, inclusive, fit for purpose, unbiased, accountable, and representative, to enhance their legitimacy," the joint statement said. "BWI governance structure should be reformed to reflect the transformation of the global economy since their establishment." The voice and representation of emerging markets and developing nations (EMDEs) in the BWI "must reflect their relative position in the global economy," it said.
"We also reiterate our call for improved management procedures, including through a merit-based, inclusive and transparent selection process that would increase regional diversity and representation of EMDEs in the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank." On the IMF, BRICS backed the implementation of quota increases agreed under the 16th General Review of Quotas and called for meaningful quota realignment under the 17th review. It said changes should increase the quota and voting shares of emerging and developing economies while protecting the interests of the poorest countries.
The grouping also described the 2025 World Bank Shareholding Review as an important opportunity to increase the voice and representation of developing countries and correct what it called their historic underrepresentation.
The push reflects one of BRICS' core economic objectives: using the collective weight of emerging economies to press for changes in institutions created in the aftermath of World War-II, rather than creating a parallel system to replace them.
The ministers backed a stronger role for the New Development Bank, the multilateral lender created by the original BRICS members, as an instrument for development and infrastructure financing in BRICS and the wider Global South.
They encouraged the NDB to mobilise more resources, expand local-currency financing, strengthen project preparation, diversify its funding sources and support high-impact projects aimed at inclusive and sustainable growth. They also backed continued expansion of the bank's membership under its existing procedures.
The statement also welcomed progress on a BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative being prepared by the NDB. The proposed mechanism is intended to help mobilise private capital, improve the creditworthiness of development projects and reduce financing costs, with pilot transactions expected to inform the initiative's future expansion.
Central banks also advanced work on the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, a financial safety-net mechanism designed to provide liquidity support to members facing balance-of-payments pressures.
The statement said amendments to the CRA treaty would make the arrangement more flexible and responsive during crises, while members would continue work on a new test run and consider onboarding additional members.
The finance track also covered insurance, pensions, settlement infrastructure, cybersecurity and emerging technologies, reflecting a broadening of BRICS financial cooperation beyond traditional macroeconomic policy.
Members discussed developing a more self-reliant BRICS insurance ecosystem and explored India's proposal for a voluntary BRICS Risk Lab at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, to develop common risk models and strengthen reinsurance capabilities.