Grouping promises to bring more benefits to the world

About two dozen heads of state or government have gathered in Kazan, Russia, for the three-day BRICS Summit which opened on Tuesday. This is the grouping's first summit since it formally admitted five new members on Jan 1. The fact that the leaders of some non-member countries are also attending the meeting signifies BRICS' increasing influence in the world arena.

With the cumulative population and GDP of BRICS member states accounting for 46 percent and 28 percent of the global total, any discussion the summit holds, any statement it issues or any decision it makes will have an impact on a world fraught with conflicts, disputes, divisions and economic crisis.

The acronym BRIC(Brazil, Russia, India and China) was first used by British economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to describe the four economies which could, if they maintained their growth, dominate the global economy by 2050. The world readily accepted the new term, which was extended to include "S" when South Africa joined the grouping in 2011. However, the first summit of the grouping was held two years before that, in 2009.