BRICS contributed over 40% to global GDP: Putin
What's the story
Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted the economic strength of the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi, he said that over 40% of global GDP in the last five years was generated by BRICS countries. In contrast, the G7 countries contributed only 29%.
Economic sabotage
West imposing restrictions on other economic powers: Putin
Putin also accused Western countries of sabotaging the development of other economic powers.
"We have been told for quite some time that competition is sacrosanct... But our Western competitors are doing everything to get back their erstwhile competitive edge, and sometimes this competition is taking some ugly forms," he said.
He added that "illegal restrictions" and "secondary sanctions" are being imposed on countries that don't align with Western interests.
He cited more than 30,000 sanctions against Russia as an example.
Twitter Post
Putin compares BRICS with G7
VIDEO | BRICS Business Forum: Russian President Vladimir Putin says, "...The world is always changing, and this is attested to by the objective facts of the last five years. And I think these statistics have already been cited by our colleague from Indonesia. Over the last five… pic.twitter.com/UZkKgGfH89
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 11, 2026
Economic growth
BRICS now represents half of the world's population: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stressed the importance of BRICS, citing its contribution to global GDP.
He said, "Today, BRICS nations represent 50 per cent of the world's population, 40 per cent of its GDP, and over 25 per cent of global trade."
"The economic strength of BRICS has grown at nearly twice the pace of the rest of the world," he added.
Forum significance
Piyush Goyal emphasized balanced trade and cooperation
The BRICS Business Forum is a major private-sector platform of the grouping, held annually in the host country ahead of the Leaders' Summit.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized India's commitment to balanced trade and cooperation within BRICS during his speech at its opening ceremony.
"India remains committed to ensuring that this cooperation benefits our farmers, empowers women and provides greater opportunities to young entrepreneurs and MSMEs," he said.
Diplomatic discussions
Modi, Putin hold bilateral talks on sidelines of summit
Earlier, Modi and Putin held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. They discussed cooperation in various sectors, including political, economic, defense, and energy.
The two leaders also talked about regional conflicts impacting maritime trade.
President Putin invited PM Modi to visit Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit, which was accepted by the latter.