The synergy of BRICS nations will grow to push forward the world's innovation and development as the nations keep united and open to each other, an expert has said.

The world has been facing a complicated international situation amid many factors such as unilateralism, the emerging of a "new Cold War" and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, He Wenping, a research fellow at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told CGTN ahead of the BRICS Summit.

The upcoming BRICS Summit, slated to start on August 22, will be the first BRICS Summit to be hosted in person since the outbreak of COVID-19. This year, the meeting will focus on strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the bloc and other emerging markets and developing countries in Africa and beyond.

The BRICS now represents about a quarter of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and some 40 percent of the world's population. 

"The Summit is a welcoming cooperation platform for the Global South nations to voice out their shared ideas and needs in fields including politics, diplomacy, economy and security," said He. She said the developing countries support multilateralism and oppose exclusive cliques as they could all benefit from multilateral cooperation for development.

As one of the five BRICS members, China will play a crucial role in helping forge development between the bloc and Africa at this summit, said He.

China contributed up to 38.6 percent on average to world economic growth between 2013 and 2021, more than G7 countries combined, data from the World Bank showed.

"China and Africa have already pursued a slew of collaborations such as remote sensing technology, new energy, digital economy for years," said He, "the African countries also adopted some business models including delivery, live streaming shopping and cross-border e-commerce.” Infrastructure development and cooperation in health care are also hot sectors for China and Africa to work together on, she added. 

Big family with shared benefits

According to the government of South Africa, more than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining this bloc of developing nations. So far, over 20 countries have formally applied to become new BRICS members, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia.

He noted more countries inclined to join the BRICS suggest the BRICS "has great attractiveness as a cooperation platform for the Global South nations."

"To become a member of BRICS can greatly boost the participant nations' global influence and its own competitiveness in sectors such as diplomacy or economy," He added.

The New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS countries, has provided up to $10 billion in crisis-related assistance to its member countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. It set an example for the members to forge more collaborations in face of the global crises in the future.

Since the beginning of its operations, NDB has approved about 80 projects among its members, totaling a portfolio of $30 billion. The projects cover sectors of transport, water and sanitation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban development.

Grow with challenges

The BRICS countries also have challenges to face , He pointed out.

Let alone the original differences in state system, culture and religion among the BRICS members, the member nations may encounter different challenges in politics, diplomacy and economy. "Sometimes the gap between the member nations is growing instead of narrowing," He added.

The BRICS is a rather loose group compared with EU, He says. "The EU has unified fiscal policy, unified budget, unified relevant regulations and guidance... the BRICS is far from this level."

But He said the BRICS cooperation is still optimistic regardless the headwinds.

"The mechanisms, the think tanks as well as the banks are all gradually set up through the BRICS collaboration, we can clearly see the BRICS countries are growing while facing the challenges head on," according to He. "As long as such a platform is consistently open for the communication and cooperation with unity, the results will show."