The Russian president's remarks came during his address to the participants of the World Youth Festival, which took place in the Russian federal territory of Sirius.
"Today, the BRICS is a powerful, serious association, a magnet that attracts many countries of the world. Indeed, these countries are gaining momentum today. Now the global GDP of the BRICS countries is larger than the GDP of the G7. And it will further increase," Putin emphasized, Sputnik reported.
Russia has assumed the chairmanship of the BRICS group of countries in 2024. The theme of the chairmanship is "Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security."
On January 1, 2024, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were joined by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as new full members of BRICS.
With the addition of the new members, the BRICS has grown to 10 countries with a population of 3.6 billion - nearly half the world's population. The countries account for more than 40% of global oil production and about a quarter of global merchandise exports, the report added.