ISTRA, Moscow Region, September 28. /TASS/. BRICS’ more flexible approach to integration allows member states to develop greater mutual understanding than EU countries, Gustavo de Carvalho, head of the African Governance and Diplomacy Program at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said.

"I would like to look at how BRICS has operated since its creation. I think it is a good example of how mutual recognition of diversity and mutual understanding can work. The European integration process is based primarily on a highly maximalist approach, aiming to bring everyone around one common idea, regardless of whether you agree with it or not. BRICS, in my view, functions rather in the opposite way. And perhaps that is precisely why this format works," he said at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

De Carvalho added that for BRICS members, differences "do not become something painful." The expert said the bloc’s members can view disagreements differently and identify a minimum common denominator to at least outline a direction for further work or create space for reaching a consensus in the future.

"That is how rivals such as China and India are able to interact within BRICS. Because ultimately, there may be deep disagreements between us, including completely different understandings of certain situations, but this does not make the grouping any less relevant or significant for its members," he continued. "And I think this is particularly important at a time when multipolarity can be viewed as a kind of desirable vision of the world."

The 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled "Responsibility for the Future: Limits of Possibility or Possibilities Without Limits?", is being held in the Moscow Region from September 28 to October 1. The club’s flagship conference brings together 120 participants from 40 countries.