UN official highlights importance of BRICS for S Caucasus

BRICS is an important organisation for the South Caucasus region because two major countries in the region - Iran and Russia - are members of this organization, Azernews reports, citing the Chief Adviser of the Centre for Analysis of International Relations (CAIR) Shahmar Hajiyev at an event on "Azerbaijan and BRICS: Opportunities and Perspectives."

He stated that the global GDP share of BRICS+ countries today stands at 37.3 percent and is expected to reach 45 percent by 2040. The member countries of the BRICS group have a total population of 3.5 billion people, which represents 45 percent of the world's population. Furthermore, BRICS accounts for 28 percent of the global economy.

It should be noted that BRICS was formed in 2001, bringing together the governments of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates into an intergovernmental organisation.

Initially established to identify investment opportunities, the grouping has evolved into a unique geopolitical bloc that has been meeting annually since 2009 to coordinate multilateral policies. Bilateral relations among BRICS are primarily based on non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.