The key to the success of BRICS is integration and development under conditions of fair competition, believes the Director of the BRICS Competition Centre.
On October 22-24, Kazan is hosting the 16th BRICS Summit, the first summit after the expansion of its membership. What expectations are placed on the summit and how to expand the future space for BRICS cooperation? Alexey Ivanov, Director of the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre, told Chinanews.com in an interview.
In 2024, more than 200 events were held during the Russian BRICS Chairmanship. An important task for the grouping is to ensure rapid and organic integration of the new member countries into all areas of BRICS cooperation, Ivanov noted. Within the framework of its BRICS chairmanship, Russia is actively promoting the implementation of the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy 2025 and other measures to promote cooperation between the member states in such key areas as politics and security, economy and finance, culture and humanitarian exchanges.
Ivanov noted that the BRICS member states, which include many developing countries, are taking an increasingly prominent place in global governance. Due to the growing attractiveness of BRICS, several countries have already expressed interest or officially declared their desire to join the alliance.
“Countries with different economic and political systems, different social and cultural backgrounds have joined BRICS, and this openness and diversity is in itself a manifestation of the strength of the 'Greater BRICS Cooperation',”
emphasized the Director of the BRICS Centre.
According to Ivanov, BRICS is not a “closed club” but a dynamically developing group of economies. Within the grouping, there are many differences between countries at the economic and social levels, but it is precisely because of these differences that the member countries can reach a consensus on how they do not want the world to be. According to Ivanov, the key word that unites the BRICS countries is “multipolarity.” In other words, the independence of each country in choosing its own path of development. This is a common value of the BRICS countries, on the basis of which cooperation will be further strengthened, forming a new paradigm of international multilateral cooperation.
Asked about how to deepen the mechanism of BRICS internal cooperation, Ivanov noted that the key to success is integration and development under conditions of fair competition. For example, the pharmaceutical industry in China is stronger than in Russia, but does this mean that cooperation between the two sides should stop? On the contrary, it is the more dynamic market that gives each side the impetus for change and development. Integration and development are certainly associated with certain risks and costs, but they open up opportunities for the BRICS countries to participate in new domestic and international value chains. This, in turn, requires deepening the mechanisms of internal cooperation among the BRICS countries.
“Despite the lack of a legal basis for uniting the BRICS countries into a single legal entity, we have reached a consensus and are implementing it through various mechanisms of cooperation, expanding the space for partnership,”
Alexey Ivanov emphasized.
In addition, the Director of the BRICS Centre noted the importance of China as one of the strongest BRICS economies. The BRICS+ concept that China advocates has become part of the cooperation mechanism within the alliance, Ivanov said. “Without China's participation, the BRICS association could not have been created, let alone developed and grown,” he said.
As for development prospects, Ivanov said BRICS aims to promote solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, strengthen the influence of the “Global South” and build a fairer and more rational international order. In this regard, one of the main tasks of the alliance should be to create a mechanism to protect the interests of developing countries and coordinate them. The BRICS format is flexible enough to allow member countries to respond effectively to a wide range of challenges.
Source: Chinanews.com
