BRICS accounts for over 40% of global GDP, G7 for 29%: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted the growing economic weight of BRICS while taking a swipe at the Western-led Group of Seven, saying BRICS members now account for more than 40 percent of global gross domestic product, compared with 29 percent for the G7.

Speaking at an event in the run-up to the BRICS summit in New Delhi on Friday (September 11), Putin referred to the G7 as the “so-called G7” and argued that the balance of economic power was shifting as emerging economies gained greater influence.

He said the combined share of BRICS economies in global economic activity was steadily increasing and had become too significant to ignore.

The bloc includes major economies such as China, India, Russia and Brazil and has expanded substantially in recent years, strengthening its economic and geopolitical reach across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Economic cooperation, greater use of local currencies in trade, investment and alternative payment mechanisms are among the issues being discussed at the BRICS summit. Russia and China have also pushed for reducing dependence on the US dollar in international trade and strengthening the role of the BRICS New Development Bank.

India, which is hosting this year’s summit, has sought to keep BRICS focused on economic cooperation and multilateralism rather than turn it into an explicitly anti-Western political bloc.

Putin’s remarks nevertheless underline the growing contest over influence in the global economy as BRICS expands its footprint and challenges the dominance of traditional Western-led institutions.