EAEU, SCO, and BRICS’ prestige growing

All the countries of the EAEU, the SCO, and BRICS face a common challenge, developing the economy, improving the people’s standard of living, and strengthening external cooperation in a spirit of openness and mutual benefit. It is gratifying to see that the international prestige of the EAEU, SCO, and BRICS countries is growing, as they play an important role in international and regional affairs. It is impossible to withstand the pressure alone. They need to look for like-minded partners. All three are long-established structures that have specific goals and clear competencies. The most important thing is that the functioning philosophy of all these formations is very consonant. Now, the geopolitical situation in the world is jeopardizing the international situation. Global trends are developing in such a way that no country can ignore the need to develop and strengthen regional ties. On the Russian side, perhaps the most pressing issue today consists in the challenges in the area of trade and cooperation. The BRICS countries successfully promote common approaches to the inadmissibility of discriminatory measures, taking a unified position on the illegitimacy of unilateral trade restrictions. The BRICS, SCO, and EAEU countries account for almost a third of the world’s GDP and almost half of the global population. These are the most actively growing economies in the world. The most important thing is to find the right interface mechanisms. They need to start with the trade and economic sphere because this is pivotal for all three associations. There are many potential areas for cooperation between the EAEU, SCO, and BRICS. All parties should strive to promote system integration and lay the groundwork for a new collaboration model. China is ready actively to explore the possibilities for negotiating and signing agreements on Eurasian economic partnership. The SCO is a regional platform for cooperation and a vehicle for China to extend its leadership and influence into continental Eurasia via Pakistan, Iran, Central Asia, and most recently, Belarus. Both groups are important platforms for China’s effort to build alternatives to the US-led international order. Despite obstacles, the SCO summit successfully projected Pakistan as a relevant player on the regional and global stage. It displayed the SCO’s growing ability to facilitate regional dialogues between rivals like India and Pakistan and India and China. Perhaps the greatest achievement of this summit was the high-level participation by all member states, reflecting the utility of the SCO as a platform for multilateral dialogue. A group of some big quickly growing economies formed the SCO and the BRICS. This provides a good potential for economic cooperation. All member countries show positive dynamics of economic development. GDP in BRICS and SCO countries grew at the beginning of the XXI century significantly faster than in integration associations built by developed countries (EU, NAFTA). In general, the largest growing economies are on the rising wave of the economic cycle and they invest a significant portion of national income into development. This secures them a benefit against developed countries. Secondly, the countries of SCO and BRICS possess vast human potential, which is rapidly growing both quantitatively and qualitatively. Thirdly, they are rich in natural resources, in terms of both minerals and agro-climatic conditions. That is why these countries can economically complement each other. BRICS countries already practice economic partnership in many spheres, financial, agricultural, scientific, and technological. As for investment partnerships, favorable prospects exist for carrying out multilateral mega-projects within BIRCS and SCO. Russia is especially interested in power engineering. Other prospective spheres include airspace, transportation infrastructure, environmental protection, education, and vocational training. An important incentive to enhance cooperation is the common strive for a transition from a conservative resource-based type of development to an innovative economy.