For African states, the BRICS summit in Rio became another important stage in their strategy of defending the interests of the Global South, write Ekaterina Abramova, Tamara Andreeva, and Daria Zelenova.
The 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, held under the slogan “Strengthening Cooperation of the Global South for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance”, although not distinguished by its high number of top representatives or sensational achievements, nevertheless marked certain progress in consolidating the positions of the global majority on the issues of reforming global governance institutions and promoting the sustainable and inclusive development agenda in the interests of developing countries.
For African countries, the summit was “truly successful”, to quote the words of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a media briefing in Rio. Nigerian Presidential Spokesman Bayo Onanuga said ahead of the summit that Nigeria “associates itself” with all issues being addressed on the BRICS side-lines, including environmental issues, climate change and global health inequality. The keen interest and enthusiasm of African leaders regarding BRICS as a platform for collectively developing mechanisms to improve global governance and defining the parameters of the future world order is understandable. “We continue to respect the UN as the main institution of global governance…however, we believe that the UN Security Council needs to be reformed to make it more representative,” Ramaphosa said.
It is also noteworthy that the term “Global South” was included for the first time in the title of the final document, the Rio de Janeiro Declaration. In this sense, the year of the Brazilian presidency was crucial in strengthening the image of BRICS as a leading international platform that conveys the voice and interests of the entire Global South, including Africa. Delegations from all African countries participating in BRICS as members (South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia) and partners (Nigeria and Uganda) gathered for the Rio summit. Moreover, South Africa, Ethiopia and Nigeria were represented by their heads of state. Thus, the BRICS “summit” diplomacy, built on the principles of mutual respect and consensus, is asserting itself as an important track of the foreign policy of African countries. At the same time, the significance of the annual summits is not limited to discussing the text of the final declaration – it is, rather, the “tip of the iceberg”.
On the side-lines of the event, an extensive network of both official and personal contacts is established, in which African representatives are also actively involved. For example, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is of Nigerian origin, held a number of meetings on the side-lines of the summit with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Angolan President Jo？o Louren？o, who currently holds the presidency of the African Union. The schedule of meetings between Louren？o and Ramaphosa on the side-lines of the summit looked quite impressive. Angola has historically been seen by Lula and other Latin American politicians as an entry point to Africa; the historical closeness and long-standing personal contacts between the presidents of Angola and Brazil are key to the two countries’ “privileged partnership” strategy.
For South Africa, the Rio summit also presents an opportunity to strengthen economic ties with Latin American countries, as Brazil is its largest trading partner. Ramaphosa’s first meeting with Chilean President Gabriel Boric took place on the side-lines of the Rio summit, during which they discussed trade relations between the two countries.
Returning to the final document, the countries represented as full members were able to record a number of theses that are fundamentally important for Africa, in particular, on increasing the representation of developing countries in international institutions. In particular, the issue of distributing quotas in the IMF took on new meaning. A corresponding document was adopted at one of the summit meetings: it stated that “the share of basic votes in total IMF voting power should be increased appropriately to reflect low-income countries and, more broadly, smaller countries’ representation in a more balanced way.”
In addition, the African members of BRICS were unanimous in expressing their collective support for the people of Palestine and condemning Israel’s aggression, which was also recorded in the final document. In particular, a consolidated position was expressed regarding support for Iran. The hotbeds of conflict in Sudan, Africa’s Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa were separately mentioned. The central role of the African Union in the implementation of peacekeeping initiatives on the continent was noted, as is usually the case, and in the text of the new declaration. The thesis supporting the strengthening of African agency became more of a mandate, which is a rather rare phenomenon for BRICS declarations: “We commit to consider new ways to support African Union peace support operations” (paragraph 30). And finally, the Rio Declaration recorded progress on such traditionally important tracks for Africans as strengthening economic and humanitarian cooperation, which includes the fight against hunger and epidemics, as well as a focus on strengthening the position of the New Development Bank (NDB).
It should be noted that Brazil's presidency in 2025 largely determined the theme of the declaration, which is distinguished by the fact that the focus is (more than usual) on sustainable development, particularly the climate agenda, digital technology development, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity issues, as well as food security. In addition, along with the adopted documents on climate financing and global governance in the field of AI, the summit announced the launch of the BRICS Partnership to Combat Socially Determined Diseases. This set of priorities clearly characterises the multidimensional and heterogeneous space of the Global South, in which advanced technologies coexist with the unresolved high-priority problems of socio-economic development. Therefore, it is no coincidence that there is an emphasis on the problem of introducing digital technology, which worries Africa no less than the rest of the world. The digitalization of the continent has long been gaining momentum (for example, in the banking sector), while revealing the problems of uneven development, including with respect to the digital divide. In Africa, a significant proportion of the population lives in remote rural areas, often beyond the reach of even the most basic social services.
The initiative to create a Global Alliance to Fight Hunger and Poverty, proposed under the auspices of the Brazilian presidency of the G20 and mentioned in the BRICS declaration, was supported by African countries, which are particularly acutely faced with these problems. Africa is not only the “leader” in terms of hunger, but is also, more alarmingly, the only region where the number of malnourished people has increased over the past 10-15 years (having already reached 281.6 million people). It is worth remembering that Ethiopia, despite its impressive GDP growth rates, still ranks among the least developed countries in the world in terms of GNI per capita. Great hopes are pinned on the BRICS Grain Exchange proposed during the Russian chairmanship, which is expected to help establish fair and stable prices for the food products which predominate in African imports. This does not remove from the agenda the problem of developing the domestic agro-industrial sector in order to achieve true food sovereignty, so the stability of supply chains is no less important in the fertiliser sector, as is the exchange of technologies and innovations in agriculture.
Despite the ambitiousness of the climate agenda (the central theme of a separate section of the declaration), the theses on the inadmissibility of linking it with security issues and on a fair and inclusive energy transition, taking into account national characteristics, have remained unchanged. In BRICS declarations, the problems of climate change and environmental degradation, as a rule, are not considered in the context of security or safety, which cannot be said about other non-traditional dimensions of this concept which are firmly established in the agenda (energy, food, information). Despite its minimal contribution to global CO2 emissions, Africa remains the most vulnerable to their consequences (prolonged droughts, floods, desertification, increased water stress). At the same time, the issue of energy security seems no less painful to the leadership of the countries, requiring a harmonious combination with the “green transition” agenda. Memories remain fresh regarding the regular rolling blackouts in South Africa from 2021 to 2023, which continue today, albeit on a smaller scale. More than 40% of the population of Ethiopia still does not have access to electricity, waiting for the launch of the Renaissance Dam, the largest hydropower project on the continent, scheduled for September 2025. Electricity generation in Egypt and South Africa is almost entirely tied to fossil fuels, which, as noted in the declaration, will continue to play an important role in the energy balance of the BRICS countries.
It is also worth noting that the enormous interest of African countries in light of their aspirations to diversify external sources of financing is directed towards the BRICS NDB. The proposal to create a guarantee mechanism for the BRICS NDB, designed to reduce investment risks in the countries of the Global South, has perhaps become the key result of the work of the Brazilian chairmanship on this track. At the same time, participation in the association does not guarantee automatic membership in the autonomous structure of the NDB. Among the African countries, it includes South Africa, Egypt and Algeria, which does not otherwise participate in BRICS. In this regard, the statement by the participating countries supporting “further expansion of NDB membership and expedited consideration of applications of interested BRICS countries” (paragraph 45) is noteworthy. Among them is Ethiopia, which is extremely dependent on Western institutions of international assistance and where the government is actively searching for alternative sources of financing for the structural transformation of the country's economic system. In any case, the fate of its application will depend on its willingness to make a mandatory contribution to the NDB's authorized capital – a sensitive issue for a country with a high level of external debt, a trade deficit and very limited international reserves. South Africa, which has already received funding from the NDB for the development of 13 infrastructure and social projects, expects to continue to use its potential, as well as new payment systems, to strengthen its own economy and regional ties.
Nigeria – BRICS’s most active African partner?
Nigeria was represented at the highest level in Rio. The country officially joined BRICS in January 2025 as a partner state. The country’s President Bola Tinubu arrived in Brazil ready to confirm the intention to develop “South-South cooperation” and an unwillingness to remain “passive participants” in global processes. In the Nigerian media, the Rio summit was noted as an important foreign policy event, and Nigeria's participation in it – as evidence of its growing geopolitical importance. The country proudly emphasises its status as a BRICS partner, and some authors directly point to the need to deepen cooperation with the association and move towards full membership. However, this will require “a certain adaptation” or even “habit,” as noted by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation and BRICS Sherpa Sergei Ryabkov.
Nigeria, like many other BRICS members and partners, continues to maintain close ties with the West, and for some, this cooperation remains strategically important. According to the latest data for the first quarter of 2025, the United States purchased 1.54 trillion naira ($1 billion) in Nigerian goods and remains one of the nation’s key trading partners (7.49% of exports and 9.22% of imports). Nigeria itself plays an important role for the United States – for a long time, the country remained a priority destination for aid, as well as a source of inexpensive oil. The ties between the two countries run deep, and many among the Nigerian elite were practically raised in the United States. The current president of the country is a graduate of Chicago State University, who began his career as an American auditor. Such a path in Nigeria is a marker of success, since most talented young people dream of receiving a grant to study in the United States, and they often choose to move there permanently.
At the same time, the role of the BRICS countries in the development of Nigeria is steadily growing. According to ITC, they accounted for 24% of exports and 35% of imports (taking into account the category of partners) in 2023. This is why Donald Trump is trying to sow discord in the association through additional import duties of 10%, while the role of the United States in the economy and the politics of the participating countries is still great. He has accused BRICS of “anti-American” policies, particularly moves aimed against the dollar. In this context, it is interesting to consider the reaction of the Nigerian authorities, because if they are introduced, Abuja will have to pay a total of 24% in duties.
Tinubu’s adviser believes that the country’s status as a partner could allow it to avoid US sanctions, since its participation in BRICS is “based on ideological and strategic alignment, not on formal membership.” At the same time, Trump's actions could push Africa to deepen both cooperation within BRICS and its own integration within the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Key takeaways
The 17th BRICS summit summed up the results of not only the current Brazilian presidency, but also, to some extent, the Russian one that preceded it. Many initiatives proposed that year were supported and developed in the text of the 2025 declaration. This applies not only to one of the most widely discussed Russian initiative – the BRICS Grain Exchange, but also to equally relevant projects, including for African partners – the BRICS Working Group on Nuclear Medicine, the BRICS Energy Platform, the Precious Metals and Diamonds Platform (in accordance with the Kimberley Process), etc.
For African states, the BRICS summit in Rio became another important stage in their strategy of defending the interests of the entire Global South. BRICS is interesting to Africans primarily because it offers a special model of a non-Western-centric world order, in which, ideally, all players can be represented in one way or another, regardless of their economic power and regional influence. Therefore, not only large African member states and partners of BRICS, but also the African Union are included in the formation of the BRICS agenda. In addition, the trend towards qualitative filling of the agenda with specific initiatives for sustainable development was supported and claims to become a characteristic feature of the activities of BRICS in the new (expanded) composition.
Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.