The BRICS summit in Goa comes as global growth struggles to pick up its momentum. Leading economies in the West have seen the rise of trade protectionism at home, and their emerging counterparts, particularly the BRICS members, face both economic slowdown and outside intervention.

What the Goa Declaration has to o er will be watched closely as it may signal the emergence of a new global balance in which BRICS has a responsibility to “shape the global agenda and help developing nations achieve their objectives”, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

To grant their bloc a bigger say in international discourse, the attending state leaders are expected to press ahead with past resolutions, stick to shared stances on major global and regional a airs, and expand exchanges in trade, innovation, and personnel. In particular, they should put more e ort into co-building a community with shared destiny, interest and responsibility.

The BRICS nations, comprising about 43 percent of the world population, have more than 20 percent of world GDP and a 17 percent share in world trade. Their priority in an economically multipolarized world should be enhancing cooperation in optimizing global governance and safeguarding the interests of developing countries.

 In the light of last year’s BRICS declaration issued in Ufa, Russia, the fi ve states are likely to work harder on the promotion of multipolarization and inclusive growth in both the North and the South.

Besides their shared stance on the reform of the United Nations, global economic governance, and regional security issues such as the Iran nuclear issue, the fi ve members, Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa, have agreed to work closely in the operation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS New Development Bank.

Such a reciprocal spirit has laid a solid foundation for more e cient communication and coordination not just under the BRICS framework, but also in major world a airs including UN peacekeeping missions and combating poverty and unemployment.

Since the global fi nancial crisis hit most economies in 2008 and 2009, China and India have become key economic drivers while fi ghting the de-globalization forces along with their BRICS partners. Now it is time to make joint institutional e orts to set the rules of doing business.

The establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank and the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is laudable, but not enough. To stay competitive in global trade and investment, the BRICS leaders have been discussing the possibility of creating their own mechanism for commercial arbitration and a fi ve-nation rating agency within the group, as well as issuing BRICS visas for businesspeople and visason-arrival for other visitors.

They are right to make such proposals. A stronger BRICS economic partnership is a key to the structural reform of International Monetary Fund and World Bank governance, which can in turn allow the developing countries to have a bigger say in economic decision-making.

The author is a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China.