Interview: UAE scholar highlights BRICS's strengthened role as Global South cooperation platform

DUBAI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS group is rapidly strengthening its role as a platform for cooperation among Global South countries, a scholar from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said.

BRICS has evolved from a grouping of emerging economies into a broader framework, and cooperation among BRICS countries is no longer limited to trade and investment, said Mohamed Binhuwaidin, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the UAE University in an interview with Xinhua.

The group "has expanded to areas including technology, digital transformation, energy, the environment and financial cooperation, as well as people-to-people ties," he added.

China, he said, has played a key role in the development of BRICS, particularly through the initiative of the "BRICS Plus" cooperation approach and the expansion of the group's agenda.

"This has helped turn BRICS into a multilateral framework that allows countries of the Global South to expand cooperation and exchange expertise and resources," he said.

Binhuwaidin said BRICS could amplify the voice of the Global South in international institutions by giving developing countries greater space to articulate their interests and participate in international decision-making.

It could also provide channels for dialogue between countries facing disputes or tensions, helping build confidence and improve prospects for peace and stability, he said.

The just-concluded BRICS Summit in New Delhi is significant amid changes in the international landscape, said the scholar, adding that the summit's success would help advance a common agenda that serves the interests of its members and partners.

The expert noted that the UAE-China relationship would be further strengthened via the multilateral framework BRICS provides. China has significant industrial capabilities while the UAE has strong logistics and investment capabilities, creating scope for greater cooperation between the two countries, he said.

The BRICS mechanism can provide the two sides with additional opportunities to deepen cooperation beyond the bilateral framework and make use of the group's wider platform, he added.