BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 23. BRICS nations have played a significant role in global economic growth over the past decades, said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Trend reports.
Speaking at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, he emphasized the collective strength of the bloc, which comprises over 3.6 billion people and dynamic markets with high social mobility, the president pointed to BRICS' 36% share of global GDP by purchasing power parity. Moreover, the bloc controls vast natural resources, including 72% of the planet's rare earths, 75% of the world's manganese, and 50% of its graphite.
Despite this economic power, Lula stressed that financial flows continue to favor wealthy nations, describing the situation as a "reverse Marshall Plan," where emerging and developing economies finance the developed world. He noted that BRICS initiatives and institutions are designed to disrupt this trend.
"The BRICS Business Council has played a crucial role in expanding trade within the bloc," said Lula, noting that Brazil's exports to BRICS countries have increased twelvefold between 2003 and 2023. He also pointed out that BRICS now accounts for almost one-third of Brazil's imports.
He also highlighted the role of the Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, through which national development banks are creating credit lines in local currencies to reduce transaction costs for small and medium-sized enterprises.
President of Brazil reiterated the importance of BRICS' role in shaping a more equitable global economic system, stressing that the bloc's initiatives will continue to serve as an alternative to the financial systems that historically benefited only the world’s wealthiest nations.