Putin mocks G7 economic record as BRICS share of global GDP tops 40%

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the G7 as the "so-called" Group of Seven, claiming the Western-led bloc has been left in the shade by the economic rise of BRICS.

Speaking at the BRICS Business Summit in New Delhi, Putin used his address to argue that global economic power has fundamentally shifted. He claimed that over the last five years, BRICS nations produced more than 40% of global GDP, while the G7’s share has fallen to 29%.

When it comes to driving new economic expansion, Putin said the gap is even wider. He stated that BRICS accounted for more than half of global economic growth over the last five years, compared to just 18% from the G7.

What did Putin say about the G7?

"I don’t know why they call them that," Putin said of the G7, taking a swipe at the group's name and its claims to global leadership. Russia was a member of the expanded G8 until it was expelled in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea.

Putin argued that the old economic powers of the 20th century are being steadily replaced by "new engines of growth" with massive, expanding domestic markets. He attributed this change to rapid urbanisation and population growth across the BRICS alliance, which now includes 11 nations.

To back up his claim, Putin highlighted a string of corporate success stories from within the bloc. He praised India's Mahindra for its work in artificial intelligence, China's Huawei, Brazil's aerospace manufacturer Embraer, the UAE's logistics firm DP World, and Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Why did Putin criticise Western sanctions?

The Russian leader also accused Western nations of trying to block this transition through what he described as underhanded economic warfare.

"Sometimes competition takes ugly forms," Putin said. He accused Western governments of attempting to preserve their economic dominance by destroying pipelines, blocking international transport corridors, seizing merchant ships, and weaponising secondary sanctions.

Putin claimed that Russia has been targeted by more than 30,000 sanctions—more than double the number imposed on all other countries in the world combined. Despite this, he insisted that Moscow had strengthened its economic sovereignty by working with "predictable partners" and that Russia's growth rate over the last three years had exceeded the global average.

What happened during the Modi-Putin meeting?

The summit also provided a rare moment of international travel for the Russian leader. Before delivering his address, Putin held a 45-minute private meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Bharat Mandapam venue in New Delhi.

During the talks, Modi repeated his stance that dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to resolving the war in Ukraine, offering India's support for peace efforts. The meeting was the second face-to-face talk between the two leaders this year, and marked Putin's first in-person attendance at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.