🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin addressed a meeting of the BRICS Business Forum (New Delhi, September 11, 2026)

💬 Vladimir Putin: Friends, Prime Minister Modi, colleagues – heads of state, our friends in the audience, and members of our countries’ business community.

As per tradition, this event takes place before the BRICS Summit. Its high-profile attendance underscores growing interest in strengthening contacts throughout the territory of our association.

It is clear that strong economic partnerships and reliable business ties largely shape the basis of international relations, reinforcing their stability and helping us overcome the crisis elements the modern world is facing.

The world has entered a period of deep structural shifts caused by the fact that the old leaders – relatively speaking old – who were at the forefront of economic growth in the latter half of the past century, are being replaced with new growth drivers. <...>

Over the past five years, as it has already been said today – I think it was our Indonesian colleague who said it, the #BRICS countries accounted for over 40 percent of global GDP, while the contribution of the Group of Seven, the so-called leading economies, although I don’t understand why they are called “leading,” was just 29 percent.

As for global economic growth over the same period, our association accounted for nearly half of it, while the G7 contributed just 18 percent. 

What drives these trends? The answer is quite simple: the BRICS countries, which are home to roughly half the world's population, have vast and dynamic domestic markets. Our cities are growing and developing rapidly, urbanisation is advancing quickly, and our national companies are increasingly making their mark as global players. <...>

We have long been told that competition is an inviolable principle; yet, regrettably, Western competitors today are resorting to every conceivable means to reclaim their erstwhile dominance. They go so far as to employ instruments of direct physical force, including the destruction of industrial and logistical infrastructure, pipelines, and similar facilities.

Efforts are underway to block international transport corridors, to seize sea‑going vessels, while illegal restrictions are imposed, accompanied by threats of so‑called secondary sanctions, on those who refuse to act in the interests of others and instead seek to defend their own national interests.

I know my colleagues could cite hundreds of such examples of this, but consider this: over 30 000 sanctions have been imposed on Russia – nearly twice as many as against all other countries in the world combined. <...>

We must also acknowledge another fact: the countries that initiated this sanctions pressure, and which are now grappling with serious problems such as budget deficits, mounting public debt and industrial decline, have been unable to do the same. 👉 It turns out that they are the ones facing complex and severe consequences. This is are not mere speculation; these are facts drawn from their own statistics. <...>

Russia is open to interesting and promising initiatives in industry, trade and tourism. We are ready to contribute to the world’s energy and food security together with our partners, and to jointly shape reliable global routes, such as the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor and the North-South International Corridor.

Through the combined efforts of the bodies of power, businesses and expert community, BRICS is creating a new stable platform of global growth. It is notable that its key elements, the operating rules for companies and organisations are not imposed from the outside by the so-called golden billion. Likewise, we do not impose anything on others.

Our rules are based on innovative business approaches, breakthrough technological solutions, highlighting the national interests of our states and nations.

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#BRICS2026