RIO DE JANEIRO, July 15 -- The BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa can build interconnected economies to overcome asymmetries among its members in order to advance in cooperation and succeed in their joint endeavor for growth, Brazilian experts told Xinhua.

According to Leonardo Valente, a professor at the Rio de Janeiro Federal University and coordinator of the University's Asian Studies Laboratory, said that the BRICS is a mixed group and some member economies are stronger than others.

"China has a very powerful economy; it is already in another level, being the second largest economy in the world, and the first when it comes to do business. It is a highly technological economy," he said.

Echoing Valente, Elias Jabbour, a researcher at the Mauricio Grabois Foundation and author of two books on China's infrastructure and development, also highlighted China's economic heft.

Both experts believed that the group's internal asymmetries must be mitigated in order to advance in BRICS integration.

According to Valente, BRICS economies are very dynamic and can become a more important pole in the global economy, even surpassing the alliances of the North, if only the member countries manage to reduce the asymmetries within the group.

"Economies like China, which are already in another development level, need a largest interchange with countries which have great potential, like Brazil, and which are not yet in that technologic level, in order to prevent increase of those asymmetries," Valente said.

According to him, in order to overcome those asymmetries, it is essential for BRICS to diversify trade and make sure the member countries have interconnected economies.

Both experts said that the idea of using a common currency for the trade between members is an excellent move.

"Stopping the use of the U.S. dollar for the financial transactions between those countries is something very interesting, and getting the BRICS Development Bank out of the project phase is even more strategic," Jabbour said.

It is also essential that the five countries cooperate in the science and technology and education fields, Valente said.

According to him, it is necessary to have more connections between member countries' universities, as well as increased exchanges among students and researchers in order to break barriers and increase knowledge.

"A good share of knowledge exchanges between BRICS countries occurs through Europe and the United States. A more direct exchange needs to be encouraged," he said.

Integration in other fields such as finance, trade, infrastructure, logistics, defense and innovation is also considered essential.

"The BRICS countries must build a common logistics infrastructure to facilitate the integration of their economies. That means integration in such fields as ports, navigation and airports," Valente said. "That is extremely important."

Despite the diverse characters of the BRICS countries, Valente believed the group is solid and has all conditions to strengthen their influence and participation in the global stage.

And for him, the BRICS agenda is already a state agenda in Brazil, going beyond administrative preferences or policies, which means things will not change with the upcoming presidential election in early October.

"Regardless of the result of elections, this is a state agenda. Brazil is interested and is willing to maintain and even deepen ties among BRICS countries," he said.

Jabbour agreed that none of the BRICS countries have any interest in stopping cooperation, and therefore the group will continue to exist.

In addition, he said, the BRICS must find a common strategic agenda which contemplates the five member countries' long-term interests and their internal differences.

If they do manage to boost dialogue and define common positions in multilateral spheres, the BRICS can increase the group's importance in global decision-making, Valente said.

"In the group we have two countries which are permanent members of the UN Security Council, which are vital to maintaining international stability, and which have great diplomatic influence. Joining these two sides can result in a non-traditionally Western bloc with a lot of weight on maintaining peace and security," he said.