BRICS represents a significant group of developing economies that have made rapid progress and are now vital engines of global economic growth, according to Indian MP Baijayant Panda, national vice-president of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who spoke to Sputnik India.
Despite some initial skepticism regarding the group's geographical diversity, the commonalities in their economic paths and shared challenges actually create a strong and influential coalition, Panda highlighted.
He noted that "developed countries have held significant influence and control over the modern
global financial system," stressing how major economies have leveraged their power for advantage.
"This was but natural because of the position they had built up for themselves while earlier large economies such as India had dwindled under colonial rule," Panda added.
But as many developing nations' economies have
grown substantially, it is only natural for them to begin taking on more significant roles in the global financial system, the Indian politician asserted.
Regardless of any past abuses of power, as more states — particularly BRICS members — emerge as influential players in global trade and finance, greater equity and balance among all nations will naturally follow.
BRICS is committed to strengthening financial partnerships, enhancing inter-bank communication, and establishing
independent settlement mechanisms in national currencies, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a press conference after the BRICS Summit in Kazan.
He pointed to the summit's debates on promoting investments to boost growth in BRICS and the Global South, stressing the New Development Bank's role under its Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Putin proposed extending Brazil's leadership of the bank, acknowledging its upcoming chairmanship of the G20 group and its future presidency of BRICS, while underlining potential cooperation in industry, energy, logistics, technology and cultural and scientific exchanges.
He clarified that while BRICS members are not creating an alternative to SWIFT, they are focused on using
national currencies and existing payment systems, including one developed by the Bank of Russia.
Putin also noted that other BRICS nations have their own systems and that they will continue to build on this framework without the need for a separate joint system at this time.
The world's leading economies have abused their position by printing money and fuelling inflation around the world, the president said.