Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The emerging top economies’ group—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, or BRICS—could establish their own parliament in the future, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
He might have taken a cue from the European Parliament, founded in March 1958, but the BRICS Parliament, if and when it becomes a reality, will be a trans-continental one—and non-political.
“Thus far, BRICS does not have its own institutionalized parliamentary structure. But I believe that in the future this idea will definitely be realized,” he said, in his address at the 10th Parliamentary Forum of the bloc in St. Petersburg, the media reported.
He said events such as the group’s parliamentary forum strengthen the influence of BRICS on global affairs and help “make the world safer and more harmonious.”
President Putin stated that, by acting together, the recently expanded BRICS group would be able to unlock its potential in economic, investment, and technology cooperation.
The group’s priorities include the achievement of “positive changes” in the world economy through the development of reliable financial instruments for settling payments within BRICS, he said.
Noting that the number of participants had increased this year, he said Russia, as the current chair of the group, would ramp up efforts to ensure that the four new members of the bloc were effectively integrated following their accession earlier this year.
BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. The group expanded this year when Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates became full members.