Rio de Janeiro chosen to host BRICS Summit on July 6–7

The 2025 BRICS Summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro on July 6–7. This announcement was made on Saturday, February 15, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, following a meeting with the city’s Mayor, Eduardo Paes.

There are two categories of participation within BRICS: member countries and partner countries. The eleven members – South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, India, Iran, and Russia – participate in all meetings, where decisions are made by consensus.

The partner-country category was established in 2024, during the Kazan Summit in Russia. Under this framework, countries are invited to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ and Leaders’ Summits, and may participate in other meetings if there is consensus among members. The current partner countries are Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.