Editor's Note:

The two-day-long BRICS Summit concluded on Wednesday in Durban, South Africa, with the members sitting together to discuss multiple issues facing the group. What issues are most important for BRICS? What role can it play in the international arena? Several experts shared their views at a recent symposium held by the Russian International News Agency.

Not against others

Viacheslav Nikonov, chairman of Russian State Duma Committee for Education and chair of the International BRICS Research Council

BRICS is not just a government group, but is actually open to the civil society of its members. It has been developing extensively and involving more and more agencies, industries, public organizations and academics.

It's now important to institutionalize BRICS. BRICS should show the world a new type of international organization, because its mission is to deal with current challenges which are very serious and have no adequate answer.

BRICS works to find a new balance or restore a lost balance in the current international system. This is a milestone event and there is great responsibility involved. We need to be serious about the design of BRICS.

As it is not a secret that BRICS is unwelcome to the West, there have been serious discussions about cooperation and relations between BRICS and the West at the academic forum which traditionally precedes the BRICS Summit.

In fact, BRICS is not intended as a counterbalancing force and the West will retain its economic, political and military positions.

BRICS is much more decentralized and every BRICS country sticks tightly to its sovereignty and won't block others. The BRICS countries have been pursuing their own varied foreign policies with their own security interests.

New form

Vladimir Davydov, director of Latin-America Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

BRICS is not an ordinary organization in the current international arena and there is no other group that can develop in this form.

The BRICS project is very realistic and has a promising future. It will give big support to not just BRICS members, but other countries as well.

BRICS has to focus on consolidating itself to deepen cooperation among members. While international organizations have different forms, it's worth opening up another dialogue among BRICS members to start cooperating with those countries which have positive expectations.

More proactive role

M.K. Bhadrakumar, ex-ambassador of India to Uzbekistan

The fifth BRICS Summit is a landmark point, as it signifies the consistency and completes a full cycle of the five members.

It is important to reflect deeply on the future orientation, what has happened so far, whether there have been assets created and how to move forward.

Russian President Vladimir Putin once outlined the expectation for BRICS in the years ahead.

He suggested creating a mechanism which would play a proactive role in addressing hot spot issues. It's an important idea and it's time to gradually work it out.

BRICS should move from a loose gathering to a concrete structure. This is a response to the archaic nature of the Bretton Woods system of financial and economic architecture established after World War II.

There has been a tendency in international life to unilaterally act without following UN mandates, which has brought serious consequences to world peace. A specific case is the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

There has to be consensus in the international opinion that BRICS can take a lead in helping the UN solving conflicts and averting such political issues.

BRICS lays its emphasis on the peaceful resolution of disputes. A case in point is the crisis in Syria, in which multiple external powers are involved.

It is necessary to have an important organization like BRICS whose member states include 40 percent of the world population and consists of five major powers from different continents to take a very strong position on such issues. BRICS should turn to taking a proactive role.