BRICS: weekly briefing
6 Oct – 13 Oct 2026
Top stories
- Ghana Seeks BRICS Partner Status Ahead of Full Membership (IntelliNews, 12 Oct) — Ghana's cabinet approved seeking partner-country status in BRICS as a first step toward full membership, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said. Ghana would become the 11th partner country if admitted, joining Nigeria and Uganda.
- Ghana's BRICS Bid Faces Trump Tariff Threats (MyJoyOnline, 12 Oct) — Ghana risks US tariffs of 10% to 100% under President Donald Trump's threats tied to BRICS alignment, though Washington has not specified whether either would apply to Accra. Ghana has begun piloting yuan payments via China's CIPS system.
- Bolsonaro Victory Could Strip B from BRICS (IntelliNews, 11 Oct) — Flávio Bolsonaro's first-round lead ahead of Brazil's October 25 runoff could reshape the bloc, with the senator pledging to reassess BRICS membership. A victory could pivot Brazil toward Washington and away from Beijing, weakening the bloc's Global South standing.
- New Development Bank Established but Still Modest After Decade (LiveMint, 12 Oct) — After a decade of operations, the New Development Bank has about $22bn in outstanding loans against $10bn in paid-in capital, a LiveMint analysis argues. The Shanghai-based institution has built credibility but lags the World Bank on leverage and technical depth.
- India Hosts BRICS Traditional Sports Games in Ahmedabad (Daily Excelsior, 12 Oct) — India's Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Sports Games in Ahmedabad on Monday. India proposed a joint digital archive and making the demonstration event permanent under its 2026 BRICS chairship.
Trends
This week's stories show BRICS navigating a series of internal and external pressures. Ghana's application signals continued African expansion, but exposes the bloc to US trade coercion under Trump's tariff threats. Meanwhile, Brazil's October 25 runoff could see the "B" effectively removed from BRICS if Flávio Bolsonaro follows through on his pledge to reassess membership, weakening the grouping's claim to hemispheric leadership. India's BRICS chairship drives cultural and scientific outreach: the Ahmedabad sports games and a separate UCT-India-Russia-Brazil BioDesign programme illustrate soft-power engagement, while Iran proposed a photonics laboratory network. On finance, an assessment of the New Development Bank finds the institution has established credibility but limited lending scale, raising questions about how much expansion its governance rules can absorb.
What it means (opinion)
The week's stories point to BRICS as a grouping under visible strain even as it continues to attract new applicants. Ghana's partner-country bid is an attempt to hedge between Western and BRICS ties, but the Trump tariff threats already hanging over Accra underscore that the costs of BRICS alignment are increasingly defined in Washington, not in the bloc's own capitals. Brazil's looming election is the more consequential test: a Bolsonaro victory would not necessarily produce a formal exit, but would likely see Brasília obstruct BRICS financial-plumbing initiatives from within while pivoting critical minerals and trade flows toward the US. India's chairmanship activity shows what the bloc can deliver on soft-power cooperation, while the New Development Bank's modest lending scale suggests financial expansion will remain slow. Watch next week for Brazil's runoff fallout, any Ghanaian parliamentary debate on the application, and NDB expansion decisions as new members are admitted.
AI-assisted summary of public reporting; the analysis is opinion. Sources are linked above.