Putin Proposes BRICS Investment Platform to Foster Economic Cooperation between Members

As the BRICS summit kicked off in Russia on Tuesday, leaders of the bloc are looking to increase their influence as they account for 37% of global economic output, and float ideas for joint projects including a grain exchange and a cross-border payments system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking support from BRICS leaders amid his dispute with the West over the war in Ukraine, said BRICS economic growth in 2024/25 would average 3.8%, while global growth would be between 3.2 and 3.3 percent.

“BRICS’ leading role in the global economy will be strengthened,” he said, citing key factors including population growth, urbanization, capital accumulation and rising productivity.

Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, has proposed setting up a BRICS grain exchange with the possibility of expanding it to other key commodities such as oil, gas and metals.

“BRICS are among the world’s largest producers of grain, legumes and oilseeds. That’s why we propose setting up a grain exchange among the group’s members,” Putin told the group’s leaders.

The exchange, he said, “will contribute to making price indices for products and raw materials more fair and predictable given their importance in ensuring food security.”

“Implementing this initiative will help protect local markets from negative external interventions, speculation and attempts to create fake food shortages,” he added.

Other leaders supported the idea of ​​creating a cross-border payments system, which would enable BRICS countries to trade among themselves without relying on the dollar-dominated financial system.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who attended the BRICS summit via video conference after suffering a head injury earlier in the week, said it was time for BRICS countries to create alternative payment methods.

He added that the group’s New Development Bank is designed to be an alternative to financial institutions he described as failed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he supported steps towards financial integration among BRICS countries, while Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the group to strengthen financial and economic cooperation.

In his speech, Putin also called for the creation of a BRICS investment platform to facilitate mutual investments among the group’s countries, with the possibility of using it in other countries in the global south as well.