The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members. This is the first leaders' summit to include Indonesia.

BRICS leaders are meeting in Brazil for a two-day summit. But China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin are skipping the gathering.

By bnl editorial staff Leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations have convened at Rio de Janeiro's Museum of Modern Art for their 17th annual summit, touting the recently expanded bloc as a counterweight to Western institutions whilst grappling with internal rifts over key geopolitical flashpoints.