NEW DELHI, June 7 (Xinhua) -- India has stressed the need for the four-nation grouping, BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, to strengthen their bilateral relationships that will help them to be more effective collectively.

    Ahead of the first BRIC summit to be held in Yaketenaburg in Russia this month, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon has called for the democratization of international financial institutions in these countries.

    "The world is on the cusp of a new type of multi-polarity. And it is becoming clearer and clearer that international decision-making on global economic issues must necessarily be democratized to reflect present realities," Menon told local journalists on Sunday.

    "We need to be a factor of growth and stability in the context of the present global meltdown," Menon said.

    "As the global economy evolves and works its way through the present global financial and economic crisis, BRIC are a factor of stability and growth. This was already evident in our role during the G20 deliberations," he said.

    Menon also stressed the need for BRIC to make more concentrated efforts to add value to their partnership and make their collective voice heard on important international matters.

    "What we see is a situation where the major powers simultaneously compete and cooperate with each other, each with all the others, to a greater or lesser degree," he stated.

    "Combined with our growing middle classes and the young populations that most of us enjoy, the BRIC can hope to be a factor of growth and stability in the world economy for decades to come," he further said.

    BRIC accounts for 40 percent of the world's population, 25.9 percent of its total geographic area, and 40 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    According to leading global investment banking and securities firm, Goldman Sachs, BRIC can become collectively bigger than the G7 by 2035.