Putin proposes new economic strategy for BRICS
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a BRICS investment platform to assist the economic growth of member countries and the development of the Global South and East. He put forward the idea on Wednesday at the 16th annual BRICS Summit in Kazan.
According to Putin, partner countries would benefit from a significant increase of investment in areas such as technology, education, trade, and logistics, to help their economies fully realize their growth potential.
The platform “would become a powerful tool to support our national economies, as well as providing financial resources to the countries of the Global South and East,” the Russian president said.
The Global South refers to countries mainly located in the Southern Hemisphere, mostly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which are regarded as having a relatively low level of economic and industrial development.
BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining the group in 2010. This year, four more countries officially joined the bloc – Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia, which was also invited to become a member, also takes part in BRICS events but has not finalized the ratification process.
Current BRICS member countries account for around 46% of the world’s population and over 36% of global GDP, according to estimates by global financial institutions.
Among the issues discussed by the attendees of the summit are the creation of the category of BRICS ‘partner countries’ and alternative payment platforms for settlements between member states.
Russia holds the rotating chairmanship of BRICS this year.
