Russia is to host the first-ever summit of "Greater BRICS" in Kazan, the capital city of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan. With Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia joining in,"Greater BRICS" has surpassed the G7 in terms of GDP, and more than 30 countries have expressed interest in joining the bloc. Why is the bloc becoming so popular? What requirements does the historic expansion put forward for the BRICS mechanism? And with its growing influence, is the organization shaping up to be a contender to the Western-dominated international order?

Guests in this episode are Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization; Andrey Kortunov, academic director of the Russian International Affairs Council; Prof. Radhika Desai from the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba; Arina Muresan, senior researcher at the Institute for Global Dialogue; Ebrahim Hashem, China-based strategist and scholar and Prof. Nourhan ElSheikh from the International Relations Department of Cairo University.