The global economic growth in the 21st century will be concentrated in BRICS countries and not in Europe or North America, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
"There is an emergence of multipolar models of development that are triggering a new wave of global growth for the entirety of the 21st century ... The main growth will concentrate not in Europe and not in North America, which are gradually losing their positions in the global economy, but in the BRICS countries and in those states that want to join our group," Putin said during the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week international forum.
The president added that the countries that aspire to join BRICS see prospects in an equal world as well as in respect of the countries' national interests.
"BRICS — Russia is chairing this organization this year — sees its task in combining economic potentials, in creating a space of opportunities for all who are interested in harmonious, mutually beneficial cooperation," Putin added.
The Russian president stated that the country's trade partners are interested in switching to national currencies to pay for Russian exports. He also noted that Russia and other BRICS countries were working to create their own payment system for independent servicing of trade.
For his part, President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who also participated in the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week, said that the country is inviting Russian companies to cooperate in the field of hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation. Equatorial Guinea is also open to strategic alliances in the energy sector, he added.