Putin at BRICS Summit: business activity focus is shifting to developing markets

The global business activity focus is gradually shifting to the developing markets, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the BRICS summit, BelTA reports

Photo: Reuters

“The global economy in general and the global trade in particular are going through some significant changes. On the positive side, the business activity focus is shifting gradually to the developing markets. The emerging multipolar model jump-starts a new wave of growth, driven mostly by the Global South and East. And BRICS countries, naturally,” said the Russian leader.

At the same time, as Mr. Putin believes, a substantial crisis potential is still there. “It’s not just about steadily rising geopolitical tensions, but also about chronically growing debt burden in the developed countries and ever-broadening policy of unilateral sanctions, protectionism and unfair competition. A direct consequence of all that is the fracturing of the global trade and the direct foreign investment markets, especially in the developing countries. Commodity prices are still highly volatile, and rising inflation causes household incomes and corporate profits to drop in many countries,” pointed out the Russian President.

According to the Russian President, the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is also stalling, with the most significant cause for that being that the least developed countries suffer disproportionally from the global economic volatility, the food and energy inflation first and foremost.

As for BRICS economies, they have generally proven to be quite resilient, thanks to the responsible macroeconomic and finance policies employed by their governments. “Most BRICS countries are expected to be developing at an accelerated pace in the mid-term. The average GDP growth for BRICS countries in 2024-2025 is going to be 3.8 percent, if we go by preliminary estimates, while the global GDP is projected to grow by 3.2-3.3 percent,” illustrated Mr. Putin.

Not to mention the share of BRICS countries in the global GDP PPP which is going to reach 36.7 percent by the end of 2024: well in excess of the G7 share.

“I believe that BRICS’ leadership position in the global economy will keep on strengthening down the road due to objective factors like population growth, wealth accumulation, urbanisation, and improved labour productivity brought on by innovations,” shared his thoughts the Russian President.

According to Mr. Putin, in order to fully realise the growing economic potential of the club and make use of all the advantages offered by a new global growth wave, BRICS countries have to intensify their co-operation in areas like technology, education, efficient resource use, trade and logistics, finance and insurance, along with ensuing a manifold increase in capital investment.