The BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution innovation center was launched in the Chinese city of Xiamen on Tuesday, as proposed during the 12th BRICS Summit in mid-November.

"The innovation center will provide a foothold for BRICS countries to make use of technological innovation and digital transformation brought by the new industrial revolution," said Guo Yezhou, president of the China Council for BRICS Think-tank Cooperation.

The far-reaching repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have become an unexpected accelerator of the digital transformation, said Li Yong, director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, via video link, at a BRICS forum in Xiamen to mark the center's inauguration.

Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Anil Kishora, vice president and chief risk officer of the New Development Bank, said the center will help BRICS countries pool ideas on how to best use technologies, including AI, big data and blockchain.

"The initiative to set up the center in Xiamen marks the beginning of a remarkable journey that will nurture the team spirit among BRICS economies, and develop common approaches in the face of universal challenges," said Kishora.

The BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are home to over 40 percent of the world population and about one-fourth of the world economy.