Putin Addresses BRICS Business Forum

BRICS business forum plenary session. Full house. 18 October 2024

Putin’s address to the BRICS business forum’s attendees was short but the video of the event provided is 46 minutes long. The transcript covers Putin’s speech and his closing remarks at the end of the session featuring him. And here it is:

Sergey Katyrin: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues! Dear friends!

I would like to report that yesterday the annual meeting of the BRICS Business Council was held with the participation of the national parts of the Council. During the meeting, my colleagues and I adopted the annual report, which reflects the results of work over the past year, as well as the most relevant proposals of the BRICS business community to further deepen market integration and trade and economic cooperation in our association. This document will be handed over to the BRICS heads of state at the summit in Kazan.

Today we are holding another BRICS Business Forum, which is a key event of our activity.

The forum agenda brought together more than a thousand representatives of the business community, heads of companies, associations, business unions, chambers of commerce and industry of the BRICS member countries. We plan to discuss cooperation in the areas of finance and investment, transport and logistics, agriculture, information, food security, and sustainable development. We also plan to congratulate the winners of the BRICS International Best Practices Competition and the BRICS Women's Startup Competition.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, on behalf of all the forum participants, I would like to thank you for your personal presence and participation in our forum, and I ask you to make a welcoming speech.

Vladimir Putin: Dear ladies and gentlemen, Dear friends!

I am sincerely glad to welcome all of you who have gathered here for the BRICS Business Forum.

The list of participants is very solid. Here are leading business representatives from all the countries of the association. Your companies have been successfully cooperating with each other for a long time, implementing major joint projects in various industries: industry and energy, transport and infrastructure, agriculture and the digital economy.

I would like to emphasize that this year's forum was also attended by businessmen from those countries that have become full members of BRICS since January 1 of this year. These are our colleagues and friends from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

I would like to emphasize that Russia, as the current chair of BRICS, strives to promote integration in every possible way-excuse me for using such a word-the integration of "new recruits" into all the mechanisms of cooperation. We see that the Business Council has welcomed representatives from new member countries, and they, in turn, are actively involved in the work.

The Russian presidency is held under the general motto "Strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security". A meaningful action plan is being implemented to promote partners in three key areas. These are politics and security, economics and finance, cultural and humanitarian ties.

To date, the plan has been completed by more than 80 percent. More than 200 events, meetings, conferences, and industry meetings were held. Most of the expert and ministerial meetings were held. But, of course, the central event will be the BRICS summit. It starts next week in the Russian city of Kazan.

It is symbolic that the Business Forum, your meeting, precedes the leaders ' meeting in Kazan. Thus, the importance of close economic partnership between our countries, promotion of trade and investment, and deepening of cooperation ties is emphasized.

Joint work in BRICS to accelerate social and economic growth and ensure sustainable development brings concrete, tangible results, and in fact contributes to improving the well-being and quality of life of ordinary citizens of our countries. The numbers speak for themselves. I am sure that you know these figures in general, but I will allow myself to name some of them.

The combined GDP of the association is more than $ 60 trillion, and the total share in the global gross product confidently exceeds the corresponding indicator of the so-called "Group of Seven" and continues to grow.

I have already spoken about this in public meetings with your Russian colleagues, but I will say it again here, in this Hall, with your participation. For example, see, 1992, "Group of Seven" – 45.5 percent. And in the same year, the BRICS countries, 1992, accounted for 16.7 percent of world GDP. And now, in 2023, our association is 37.4 percent, and the Group of Seven is 29.3 percent. The gap is growing, and it will continue to grow, it is inevitable. This is an absolutely clear dynamic. Moreover, over the past decade, more than 40 percent of the global GDP growth of the entire global economic dynamics has been accounted for by the BRICS countries.

By the end of this year, the average economic growth rate in BRICS is projected at four percent. This is higher than the rates in the G7 countries, where only 1.7 percent, and the global rate. The global rate will be 3.2 percent – forecast.

BRICS accounts for about a quarter of the world's goods exports. At the same time, the companies of the association countries dominate many key markets, including energy resources, metals, and food, i.e., the markets of those goods without which sustainable economic development is impossible. In short, BRICS already plays a significant role in the global economy not only today, but also, quite obviously, this role will increase in the days to come.

The countries that make up our association are actually the drivers of global economic growth. And it is in the BRICS that the main growth in global GDP will be generated in the foreseeable future.

Within the framework of the association, appropriate development platforms are being built. These are communication channels, technological and educational standards, financial systems, payment instruments and, of course, mechanisms for sustainable, long-term investment. In other words, the economic growth of BRICS members will depend less and less on external influence or interference in the future. This, in fact, is economic sovereignty, a partnership of self-sufficient economies, which multiplies their potential and opens up new opportunities.

I would like to add that the New Development Bank has a special role to play in strengthening financial cooperation. This is a good, powerful, efficient structure, it has a solid capital base and a team of experienced experts. As a development institution, the bank is already an alternative to a significant number of Western financial mechanisms. And, of course, we will develop it without opposing anyone, it's just an independent structure. We will expand its capabilities, this bank.

The new bank should become one of the main investors in major technological and infrastructure projects in the BRICS region and the Global South as a whole.

One of the key issues of strengthening business partnerships within the BRICS is increasing transport connectivity, creating new freight highways and corridors that are in demand by businesses, modern intermodal solutions and logistics schemes.

The Russian BRICS presidency has launched a regular dialogue between transport agencies on these issues. Initiatives such as the opening of an electronic coordination platform and the formation of a BRICS reinsurance pool are being worked out.

As far as I know, the Business Council has established a separate logistics subgroup. I would like to thank the council members and business representatives for supporting the concept of a permanent logistics platform.

Russia is rapidly switching transport flows to reliable foreign partners. Our flagship projects include the Northern Sea Route and the North-South corridor. These continental arteries are designed to provide short, profitable trade routes, connect large industrial, agricultural and electric power hubs with consumer markets.

We are implementing a large-scale plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route, and the icebreaking fleet, including nuclear-powered vessels, is being replenished. Coasting flights have been launched to test routes, the satellite constellation is being upgraded, new fuel terminals, navigation safety centers and other coastal infrastructure facilities are being built, and road and rail approaches to seaports are being expanded.

In turn, the North–South transport corridor connects Russian ports on the northern seas and the Baltic Sea with terminals on the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. This is also the key to increasing cargo transportation between the Eurasian and African continents.

We also work closely with our BRICS partners in innovation and the digital economy. I have just spoken about our opportunities in food markets, energy markets, and so on. Of course, we are looking to the future, we are working on the numbers. We jointly develop e-commerce, implement the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies, and process so-called big data. And to deepen cooperation in the field of industrial digitalization, the BRICS competence center will be opened under the United Nations Industrial Development Agency (UNIDO).

In the future, a unified digital infrastructure of BRICS will be created. And here, of course, it is important to determine the coordinated approaches of business, the public, and relevant authorities to use biometrics and ensure information security. We look forward to receiving appropriate recommendations from you, ladies and gentlemen, from the Business Forum.

Dear colleagues, Russia is as open as possible to mutually beneficial business cooperation. We create comfortable global competitive working conditions for businesses, both domestic and foreign, to attract capital and technology from abroad. First of all, of course, we cooperate with you.

At the same time, I would like to emphasize once again that our common main efforts should be focused on developing and strengthening our own platforms that ensure economic growth, I mean technological solutions, financial and investment mechanisms, expanding logistics, and so on.

I am confident that the implementation of the BRICS potential, which is based, in particular, on a large population and a powerful resource base, will bring maximum benefits to our countries, businesses and all our citizens.

In conclusion, I would like to wish the participants of the Business Forum fruitful communication, successful work, and all the best.

I assume that the Chairman-in-Office of the BRICS Business Forum will report on the results of your forum at the leaders ' meeting in Kazan, as your colleague has already said here. And of course, I very much hope that you will be able to get a closer look at the capital of Russia-Moscow, which is, of course, as we say with pride, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, well, a rapidly developing global metropolis.

Thank you for your attention. Thank you.

<…>Discussion<…>

Sergey Katyrin: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

We know about your busy work schedule. We understand that important and urgent matters are waiting for you. On behalf of all the participants of our forum, I would like to thank you for your participation in the forum, for your attentive attitude to the BRICS Business Council, and in general for your attitude to the development of entrepreneurship both in our country and abroad.

We would like to wish you all every success in your hard work. Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

For my part, I would like to express my gratitude to the colleagues who spoke and participated online in our work today.

Very soon, in a couple of days, the President of the United Arab Emirates will pay a visit to Moscow. I will have the pleasure and honor of hosting him.

And then, as you know, next week there will be a meeting with the leaders of all the member countries of our association.

I would like to join my colleague and friend President Ramaphosa in saying that one of the key tasks of all leaders of the BRICS member states is to support business activity. We, in turn, very much expect that thanks to your organizational talent, thanks to your entrepreneurial acumen and energy, thanks to your knowledge and experience, you will achieve significant results in your work. And all of us together, helping and supporting each other, will solve the main task – to ensure positive progress, security and, ultimately, the well-being of the citizens of our countries.

The BRICS work is not directed against anyone. It is aimed only at one common goal – the sustainable development and prosperity of our countries and peoples.

I would like to thank you for being here with us in Moscow today, for thinking about how to move along this path, and I wish you all the best and success in your noble work.

Thank you very much. [My Emphasis]

Recently in Russian government discussions the idea of exporting technological sovereignty was discussed thus making it possible for nations to jump certain rungs on the development ladder. This is a comprehensive process that goes well beyond merely providing the physical plant as it includes the education and training of the specialist staff required to operate the plants. It further involves the establishment of training institutes within the host nation so future expansion can be fueled from within. IMO, this educational process is the key dynamic that will enable developing nations to motivate their own human capital and advance its capabilities which will then enhance those of their nation. International commerce is fine, but nations must be sovereign in key fundamentals which essentially are all required supports for their citizens—food, health, education, and fiscal sovereignty being those keys. And for many nations, that means dealing with the massive problem of odious debt used as a neocolonial tool to enslave and retard development. That huge issue wasn’t mentioned but lurks in the background for a majority of developing nations and cannot be ignored any longer. That issue ought to be discussed at Kazan as both Egypt and Ethiopia are strangled by such debt. Putin has finished hosting MbZ in Moscow, and the Kazan Summit opens today.

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