Interview: BRICS helps meet challenges, boost global development, says Russian scholar

MOSCOW, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, have been making significant contributions to improving global economic governance and promoting global economic recovery, a Russian expert has said.

Amid the complicated world situation, the BRICS cooperation mechanism will play an important role in dealing with external challenges, resolving energy and food crises, and propelling global economic growth, said Rosalia Varfalovskaya, leading researcher of the Center for China Socio-Economic Research, the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The BRICS countries, located in different parts of the world, have ample human resources and great economic potential and occupy a pivotal position in the global industrial chain, Varfalovskaya said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

A huge amount of economic, technological and financial resources have been accumulated since the BRICS cooperation mechanism was established, she noted.

The open model of "BRICS Plus" will further unleash the potential of economic cooperation, thus pushing ahead with economic development in the world, Varfalovskaya explained.

She recalled that the New Development Bank, established by the BRICS countries, announced in May that from 2022 to 2026, it will provide 30 billion U.S. dollars of financial support for member countries.

"The funds will finance projects in these countries in the fields of energy and food security, the development of payment systems, climate change, healthcare and transport infrastructure affected by the current global crisis," she said.

While some Western countries are wielding the weapon of sanctions, the BRICS countries promote cooperation among its members and oppose sanctions that are illegal and contrary to common economic sense, Varfalovskaya noted.

The Russian scholar stressed the importance of strengthening partnership in international business and exploring institutional innovation to create a new pattern of global development.

She considers as "promising" the prospects of BRICS countries' cooperation with other integration organizations like the Eurasian Economic Union and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).