Originally an investment concept, BRICS is now a force to be reckoned with in international governance. At the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, President Xi Jinping called on members to build the multilateral mechanism into a primary channel for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among Global South nations.

The Global South refers to regions of the world generally characterized by lower levels of economic and industrial development and often located south of more industrialized nations.

This summit, the first since the group announced a major membership expansion last year, gathered leaders for discussion on topics ranging from political, economic and cultural cooperation to the defense of multilateralism.

The term BRIC was coined by Jim O'Neill, former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, in 2001. In a report, he used this term to refer to Brazil, Russia, India and China, countries he believed had huge potential for growth and offered opportunities for investors. O'Neill's report not only fueled the popularity of the BRIC investment theme, but also led to the official grouping of these emerging economies.

The four countries held their first annual summit in 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. South Africa joined two years later, with the acronym becoming BRICS. In its latest expansion, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were invited to become members of the BRICS family.

BRICS now accounts for about 30 percent of the global GDP, nearly half of the global population and one fifth of world trade. Hopes are high that the group will forge closer collaboration in the Global South and help improve global governance toward greater equity and inclusiveness.

For decades, the benefits of economic growth have disproportionately flowed to the Global North, leaving much of the developing world on the margins. BRICS cooperation promises to rebalance this dynamic by promoting investment, infrastructure development and trade that align with the specific priorities of the South. At the Kazan summit, Xi urged BRICS members to act as forerunners in reforming global governance, saying this reform has lagged behind for a long time.

BRICS is not merely a mechanism to coordinate joint efforts but a platform that helps ensure underrepresented regions have a greater voice in international affairs. With more countries expressing willingness to be part of the process, the group is expected to play a bigger role in uniting and representing the developing world.