Leaders of BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will meet in the western Indian state of Goa on Oct. 15-16 for the group's 8th summit.

The following is a brief introduction to the BRICS which brings together five major emerging economies, comprising 43 percent of the world population, having 30 percent of the world GDP and 17 percent share in the world trade, and their past seven summits.

The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their global economics paper, which said the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and would be amongst the world's largest economies in the next 50 years or so.

As a formal grouping, BRIC started after the meeting of the leaders of Russia, India and China in St. Petersburg on the margins of G8 Outreach Summit in 2006.

The grouping was formalized during the 1st meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of UNGA in New York in 2006.

The 1st BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009. South Africa was admitted by the other BRIC leaders in 2010, adding the "S" to the original grouping.

Seven BRICS summits have taken place so far.

-- The 1st summit was held on June 16, 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

The participants discussed issues of the global economic crisis, food security, development strategies and further consolidation of the BRIC countries and the need to reform the United Nations.

The BRIC Leaders urged more economic reforms and more transparency in appointing top managers of international financial institutions.

-- The 2nd summit was held on April 16, 2010 in Brasilia, Brazil.

At the summit the leaders signed a number of documents on overcoming the aftermath of the 2008 global economic crisis, and creating a new financial order, including their right to have more influence in such international agencies as the World Bank and the IMF.

-- The 3rd summit was held on April 14, 2011 in Sanya, China.

South Africa officially joined BRIC. The participants discussed the reform of international financial institutions, promotion of cooperation within BRICS, development of dialogue on combating terrorism under the aegis of the UN, UN reform, economic cooperation based on national currencies, and the war in Libya.

-- The 4th summit was held on March 29, 2012 in New Delhi, India.

The Leaders discussed global economic issues, anti-crisis measures and settlement issues related to Syria and Iran. They also reviewed the possibility of establishing a BRICS New Development Bank and mechanisms for drawing their markets closer together.

-- The 5th BRICS Summit was held on March 26-27, 2013 in Durban, South Africa.

The participants signed agreements on cooperation in the green economy and co-funding of infrastructure projects in Africa. They also signed a declaration on establishing a BRICS Business Council and a declaration on setting up a consortium of expert centers of their countries.

-- The 6th summit was held on July 14-16, 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil.

The leaders signed an agreement on establishing a New Development Bank and a treaty on creating a Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

They established a ceiling of 100 billion U.S. dollars on the bank's charter capital, and agreed to distribute half of the sum among their countries.

-- The 7th summit was held on July 8-9, 2015 in Ufa, Russia.

The summit coincided with the entry into force of constituting agreements of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, which came as a milestone in the BRICS development process, marking the institutionalization and normalization of the BRICS cooperation.

During the summit inaugural meetings of the NDB were held, and it was announced it would be lending in local currency, and open up membership to non-BRICS countries in the coming months.

BRICS leaders also signed Ufa Plan of Actions and Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership that confirmed the strategic character of BRICS countries partnership and determined the directions of five countries' long-term cooperation.