Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday that BRICS countries should combine their potential strengths to continue enhancing their coordination on major issues of common concern.

BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- should combine their "huge potential" to better coordinate on issues such as the world economy, the democratic and equitable world order and global governance reform, Singh told Xinhua prior to a BRICS summit in China.

The third BRICS summit will be held in Sanya, China's southern Hainan province, on Thursday.

Cooperation among BRICS members should aim at improving the economic well-being of their peoples. "We could, for example, share experiences on the management of large urban cities," he said. "We should also enhance dialogues and exchanges among our civil societies, media, businesses, scholars and youths."

As BRICS countries are all members of the current UN Security Council, they should "shape and guide the international discourse on issues of importance to us," he said.

Singh said India warmly welcomes South Africa's accession to BRICS, adding South Africa's presence will lend weight to BRICS and introduce the African perspective to the burning issues of today.

BRICS can contribute to the development of Africa and articulate its priorities at international forums, which will benefit not just Africa but the entire world, he said.

Singh said he is very happy that the third BRICS summit is taking place for the first time in Asia. "This is a matter of great encouragement for all BRICS countries."

"We have a substantive agenda for the summit. That includes discussions on the international situation, international economic and financial issues, development and sectoral cooperation. I look forward to reviewing the decisions we took at the last G-20 summit in Seoul," the prime minister said.

On cooperation with China, Singh said India and China, two engines of the global economy, "are both witnessing rapid growth, addressing the aspirations of our peoples and stimulating global demand."

"Our shared objective remains to ensure sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy and employment creation," he said, adding the two largest developing countries in the world bear important responsibilities of ensuring their all-round and sustainable socio-economic development.