Russia is committed to strengthening political, economic and security partnerships within BRICS and promoting its economic and political independence, Egyptian economist and international relations expert Abu Bakr Al-Dib told Sputnik, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement at the opening of the BRICS 2024 Business Forum in Moscow.
President Putin asserts that Russia has successfully weathered the impact of over 14,000 Western sanctions. He champions the BRICS group as a strong and growing economic power, outperforming the G7.
"President Putin emphasized that Russia managed to overcome Western sanctions by the US and Europe, which have exceeded 14,000, and that the BRICS group is strong and Russia is working on plans to develop political and security partnerships with the BRICS countries," he said, referring to the president's statement at the forum.
The expert added that the Russian president also emphasized that BRICS itself and the bloc's economy are strong and growing, and its economic performance is ahead of that of the G7. BRICS countries are successfully cooperating and implementing joint projects.
To strengthen the group's economic independence under the pressure of sanctions, Russia proposes to create a "BRICS Clear" platform to regulate securities trading and improve interaction between the member nations' credit rating agencies, the expert noted.
Another initiative by the world's largest wheat exporter is to establish a grain trading exchange in the BRICS group as an alternative to the Western exchanges that influence international agricultural commodity prices, according to Al-Dib.
"Efforts are also underway to develop transport facilities and solutions needed to manage and open shorter routes for energy trade and transport, develop the Northern Sea Route, build power plants for ships," the economist said, highlighting Russia’s role in efficient energy trade and transport development.
He also pointed out the efforts to develop digital trade using the Internet and artificial intelligence and create a unified digital infrastructure for the BRICS countries.