ABU DHABI, UAE -- The United Arab Emirates is taking part in the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, held from September 12 to 13, 2026. This marks a continuation of the UAE's role as a full member of the group since January 2024. The country's participation underlines its commitment to widening economic partnerships and boosting its integration into global markets, bringing its strengths as a major international hub for logistics, commerce, and investment to the alliance.
The BRICS bloc represents a massive segment of the global economy, comprising approximately 49.5 percent of the world's population, roughly 40 percent of global gross domestic product, and 26 percent of international trade. UAE membership in this influential group supports the nation's strategy of economic diversification and openness, fostering new trade routes and boosting cooperation with emerging and developing economies.
Economic ties between the UAE and BRICS partners have expanded significantly. Non-oil foreign trade between them surpassed $312 billion in 2025, a 28.5 percent rise from $243 billion in 2024. Currently, BRICS nations account for 31 percent of the UAE's total non-oil foreign commerce, including 34 percent of imports, 23 percent of non-oil exports, and 28 percent of re-exports. This growth is bolstered by the UAE's Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) program, which has secured 38 agreements since September 2021, including pacts with fellow BRICS members India and Indonesia.
China and India remain the UAE's top trading partners in the bloc. Non-oil trade with China jumped 24.5 percent to $111.5 billion in 2025, exceeding the $100 billion mark for the first time due to closer ties in technology, industry, and logistics. Meanwhile, non-oil trade with India reached AED107.5 billion in the first half of 2026, driven by their bilateral CEPA.
The UAE has also strengthened its trade ties with other BRICS nations. A newly active Trade in Services and Investment Agreement with Russia complements a wider pact with the Eurasian Economic Union, helping push non-oil trade between the UAE and Russia to $20.4 billion in 2025. This represents a 77.7 percent increase from 2024 and nearly double the $10.8 billion recorded in 2022. Trade with Brazil also grew past $5.4 billion, alongside deeper collaboration in logistics and infrastructure.
As a strategic logistics hub, the UAE utilizes its advanced transportation networks to establish multimodal corridors that ease trade flows for the bloc. This includes routes linking Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia that have reduced transit times from the Port of Karachi to Uzbekistan to approximately 10 days.
Furthermore, BRICS membership facilitates increased foreign direct investment into the UAE's clean energy, transport, mining, automotive, financial, and information technology sectors. In turn, BRICS nations benefit from the UAE's strategic location and its active investments in their own infrastructure, transport, food security, and industrial sectors.
