Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed creating a BRICS insurance mechanism and a collaborative grain market as part of a broader push to strengthen the grouping’s economic independence and shield member countries from external financial and geopolitical pressures.
Addressing the concluding session of the BRICS Summit, Putin said the grouping possessed independent channels for the movement of capital, labour and technology and could increasingly operate without being constrained by outside pressure. The proposals carry particular significance for Russia, which has faced extensive Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. Restrictions imposed by the G7, European Union and the United Kingdom have targeted several sectors of the Russian economy, including mechanisms used to insure shipments of Russian crude oil.
Putin proposes new BRICS mechanisms
Putin said Moscow had put forward several initiatives aimed at expanding economic cooperation within the grouping, including the creation of an insurance mechanism and a common grain market. “We have independent routes for moving capital, labour and technologies. In fact, we can operate regardless of outside pressure,” he said. “We have some promising initiatives going forward, such as creating an insurance mechanism and a grain market. These are Russian proposals, and we invite all other member states to make use of those,” he added.
Putin did not provide details about how either mechanism would operate. A BRICS-linked insurance framework, however, could potentially reduce dependence on Western-dominated insurance and financial infrastructure for international trade. The Russian leader also praised the New Development Bank, the multilateral lender established by BRICS countries, saying it was handling projects worth $140 billion.
Common growth platform pitched
Putin called for the creation of a joint BRICS platform that could combine the competitive advantages of member economies and strengthen investment and commercial links across the grouping. He said BRICS countries had significant opportunities to expand cooperation between their markets and develop new avenues for investment. “We're talking about forming a joint platform for growth within BRICS that would combine the competitive advantages of all members of the group,” Putin said.
He argued that such a platform should remain open not only to BRICS members and partner countries but also to other nations interested in cooperating with the grouping. The proposal fits into a wider BRICS effort to deepen intra-bloc economic links, expand the use of alternative financial arrangements and increase the role of institutions created by emerging economies.
Global South role in governance
Putin said the emergence of successive global crises required countries to adopt a comprehensive approach that addressed both their immediate consequences and underlying causes. He called on Global South nations to work collectively towards improving global governance and tackling traditional as well as emerging security challenges.
The Russian President argued that BRICS was gaining international influence because of its commitment to pursuing an independent approach to global affairs and resolving problems collectively within the framework of international law and the UN Charter. The broad participation at the New Delhi meeting demonstrated growing international interest in the grouping, he said. Putin said the expanded BRICS format allowed full members, partner countries and other interested states and multilateral organisations to engage in direct discussions on economic and geopolitical challenges.
Expanded bloc gains economic weight
BRICS has expanded substantially from its original five members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia joined the grouping in 2024, while Indonesia became a member in 2025.
The grouping also has 10 partner countries — Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The expanded bloc now represents about 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of world GDP and roughly 26 per cent of global trade.
Putin said the grouping’s growing economic weight created new opportunities for investment and cooperation, arguing that closer integration of its markets could give BRICS members greater resilience against external disruptions. His proposals for insurance, grain trading and a common growth platform added to a series of initiatives discussed during the summit aimed at strengthening economic cooperation and giving emerging economies a larger role in shaping the international financial architecture.