In June 2026, Moscow hosted the BRICS Horizons Forum, where Indian experts presented a concept outlining the framework for practical cooperation between two major integration frameworks: BRICS and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Their proposal boils down to the following idea: synergy between these two groupings is not merely a political option but an economic necessity in the emerging multipolar international order. Translating this vision into practical reality, however, requires a coherent framework for cooperation capable of combining BRICS’ global reach with the EAEU’s depth of regional integration.

Two Dimensions of Partnership: Scale and Depth of Integration

The value of bringing these two frameworks together lies in the complementary nature of their respective strengths. BRICS provides a global dimension, offering access to large and rapidly expanding markets, diverse sources of finance, and enhanced political support on the international stage.

The EAEU, on the contrary, offers a more advanced level of regional integration through harmonised technical standards, customs regulations, and well-established industrial and logistics networks spanning the Eurasian space. It is precisely this combination that makes it possible to approach the two organisations not as competing structures but as complementary components of a single integration bridge linking global economic cooperation with practical regional implementation.

A Model for Cooperation: from Pilot Projects to Large-Scale Deployment

During their presentation, the Indian participants proposed a model illustrating how this particular synergy could operate at the level of businesses and industrial enterprises. Under this approach, an Indian technology company would identify a Russian industrial cluster as its partner, utilize a manufacturing platform, benefit from EAEU preferential arrangements, secure support through an existing development institution, and subsequently scale the resulting product or service across the wider BRICS market.

It is particularly important that this model is applicable to a broad range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, agricultural technologies, transport systems, artificial intelligence, energy, advanced materials, and many others.

Regionalizing Cooperation: Beyond National Capitals

One of the essential conditions to provide for the effectiveness of this new architecture is decentralization. Cooperation should not remain confined to national capitals or federal bureaucracies alone. Regional governments and local industrial clusters must be actively involved in - and become beneficiaries of - the integration process. It is at the regional level, within industrial parks, research centres, and university campuses, that demand for new technologies is generated and the most tangible socio-economic benefits emerge through the creation of new jobs, production chains, and innovation ecosystems.

Creative Industries and Intangible Assets as a Strategic Resource

Particular emphasis during the presentation of the Indian experts was put on recognizing the strategic importance of the creative industries, whose contribution remains significantly underestimated in conventional macroeconomic analysis.

Creativity is inseparable from technological progress and the development of modern financial infrastructure. Sectors such as industrial design, media, fashion, architecture, cultural industries, and digital content production generate intellectual property, create substantial export opportunities, and support the growth of employment rates.

Unlocking this potential requires flexible policy instruments, including small-scale grant programmes, venture capital and bridge financing mechanisms, mentoring schemes, international exhibitions, effective intellectual property protection, and simplified access to digital distribution platforms.

Moreover, these same instruments contribute directly to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting inclusive growth, cultural exchange, youth entrepreneurship, and sustainable urban development. By investing in creativity, governments in fact invest in trust and mutual understanding between societies, which constitute the indispensable foundation of any lasting economic partnership.

A BRICS–EAEU Platform: a Project-Oriented Architecture

The next stage should mark a decisive shift away from broad memoranda of understanding towards a genuinely project-oriented model of cooperation.

This new approach should centre on the establishment of an interregional BRICS–EAEU Innovation Platform, designed to support a continuous pipeline of investment projects, connect regional clusters across participating countries, provide up-to-date information on grant opportunities and financing mechanisms, offer advisory support on technical regulation, and facilitate engagement with specialized investors.

Within this framework, each participating country or region would be able to nominate priority projects and designate the institutions responsible for their implementation.

Measuring Success

The methodology for assessing the effectiveness of such cooperation also requires reconsideration. Success should be evaluated with the use of specific and verifiable indicators, including the number of projects that secure financing, the volume of technology transfers achieved, the growth in high-productivity employment, and the number of new regions incorporated into cross-border cooperation networks.

The future of international economic cooperation is already being shaped in industrial parks, university laboratories, creative studios, and rapidly growing innovative enterprises. These emerging centres of growth require appropriate financial instruments, strong institutional support, and opportunities to enter international markets.

By combining the EAEU’s deep regional integration with BRICS’ global reach, it may be possible to establish a new and promising foundation for expanding international economic cooperation.

Vlad Markin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, New Eastern Outlook. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2026/08/08/prospects-for-brics%e2%80%93eaeu-synergy/