ISAS academic Amitendu Palit notes that with four major Southeast Asian countries as partners, the BRICS is on its way to becoming a representative bloc from the global south with multiple regional identities. Greater economic integration through the launch of BRICS Pay will also help Russia and Iran increase their presence in the global economy.
The 16th annual BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, in October, marked some important advances for the BRICS bloc.