BEIJING, August 22. /TASS/. Over the 17 years of its existence, BRICS, an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has become an effective platform for tapping into the potential of countries with emerging market economies, Qian Feng of the National Strategy Institute under the Tsinghua University told TASS.

"Over the 17 years of its existence, the BRICS group has become a major platform for the consolidation and realization of the potential of countries with emerging market economies," he said, adding that the summit’s key mission is to find ways "to launch new development processes amid the changing international situation."

The expert recalled that last year, China hosted a BRICS summit, which yielded an important joint statement in support of strengthening multilateral cooperation formats and reforms of the World Trade Organization. Apart from that, the countries laid out the association’s strategy in the area of food security, announced plans to establish the so-called chain of BRICS centers for technology transfer, and laid the "groundwork for partner relations in the area of digital economy." "The results were unprecedented, both in terms of their quantity and in terms of quality," he stressed.

The current summit in South Africa "will continue and strengthen the trend of cooperation between the association’s members, especially in the area of trade," Qian said, adding that he is sure that the BRICS nations will establish a new platform for cooperation in such areas as trade, monetary policy, and climate change.

"The international community is pinning big hopes that this time the summit will officially launch the process of expansion," the expert added.

BRICS, an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is holding its summit between August 22 and 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit via a video link. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia in South Africa in person.