RIO DE JANEIRO
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday that the BRICS bloc of developing economies seeks to create “a more stable global economic architecture.”
Lavrov’s remarks came at the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Noting that regional organizations like the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are gaining influence and efforts are underway to build a new world economic framework based on equality, multilateralism and non-discrimination, he said that “nowadays, BRICS stands as an engine of such transformation, which seeks to create a more stable global economic architecture based on the principles of universality, transparency, non-discrimination and equal access to available opportunities and instruments.”
“Multipolarity is not a choice but rather an objective reality which succeeds the outdated neoliberal model that actually builds on neocolonial practices,” he said.
Lavrov said that confidence in the US dollar “as a formerly reliable payment instrument was undermined,” adding that today, developing countries are spending on debt servicing more than they are investing in their development.
“The situation is going out of control even in developed states. The US has seen a record level of sovereign debt, which reached $37 trillion, and it continues to grow,” he added.
He said BRICS countries account for more than 40% of global GDP based on purchasing power parity, and together with partner countries, this figure is at 45% or $93 trillion,” adding that BRICS also accounts for more than 20% of global trade and nearly half of the world’s population.
“The continued use of the IMF and World Bank with a view to preserve neocolonial practices is unacceptable,” he added.
