The ninth BRICS summit held in the Chinese southeastern city of Xiamen was encouraging for Central Asian nations, said one expert.[Special coverage]
Ruslan Izimov, head of Kazakh Eurasian Studies program of the World Economy and Policy Institute, told Xinhua that he noted the summit was predominately aimed at economic interaction between the BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and developing countries worldwide.
"Of course, this encourages us and other states of the Central Asian region," he said.
He also said that cooperation with BRICS countries like China and Russia presents great prospects, noting that most of Kazakhstan's economic programs are related to China's Belt and Road Initiative and the Russia-backed Eurasian Economic Union.
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the initiative in 2013, which includes building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Over 100 countries and international organizations have expressed support for or participated in the initiative.
Izimov said his country is very interested in the idea of BRICS's cooperation with developing countries, adding that there are a lot of mutually beneficial projects.
He believes that the economic potential of the BRICS countries will inject new impetus into the development of the their neighboring states and regions.
