The nations that will drive global economic growth may no longer be the Western powers, but rather the members of BRICS, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has long envisioned.
From October 22 to 24, Putin will host a BRICS summit in Kazan, bringing together the intergovernmental group of Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. His main objective is to urge BRICS to establish a new payment platform that would overhaul the global financial system, reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar and bypassing Western sanctions.
This proposed system would use blockchain technology to transfer digital tokens backed by national currencies. These tokens would be exchanged securely through a network of commercial banks linked via BRICS central banks, eliminating the need for dollar-based transactions.
Additionally, Russia plans to propose the creation of “BRICS Clear”, a platform to settle trade in securities in place of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which Russia has accused of prioritizing Western interests, along with a BRICS grain trading exchange, an alternative to Western bourses that set global prices for agricultural products.
Despite these ambitious plans, most BRICS members sent only lower-level officials — none of whom were finance ministers or central bankers — to a recent preparatory meeting. Nevertheless, Russia expects to welcome the leaders of all nine BRICS countries, as well as representatives from around 15 other nations interested in partnering with the group, at the upcoming summit.
