So long U.S. hegemon: GDP of BRICS could surpass G7 in 2-3 years

© RIA Novosti/Vladimir Fedorenko
Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Pushkov

    

The GDP of the BRICS countries may surpass that of the G7 within two or three years, as it has already hit $32.5 trillion and rising, claims State Duma Foreign Relations chief Aleksey Pushkov.

"In 2014, the total gross domestic product of BRICS countries reached 30 percent [of the world's GDP - Ed.]. This is less than that of the G7, but the difference is seven or eight percent. The combined GDP of the BRICS countries, according to the International Monetary Fund is $32.5 trillion [by purchasing power parity - Ed.]; the G7's is $34.7 trillion. Given that the BRICS members mostly show much higher growth rates than the G7, we can assume that in the next two or three years the aggregate GDP of the BRICS countries will exceed the G7's," said the head of the State Duma Foreign Relations Committee, Aleksey Pushkov, speaking to reporters at the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Moscow.

He went on to say that BRICS should make this Forum regular, preferably annual, and when that happens, it would help to make the world more equitable and multipolar, based not on the superiority of one country over the other, but on the balance of interests.

The economic center of the world is changing, the developed West will have to share its influence and authority in the global arena with players like BRICS, said Pushkov.

Speaking about Western counter-efforts to consolidate and integrate, he mentioned the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US that aims at tariff reductions and the elimination of regulatory barriers to business.

If signed, it would turn Europe into the branch of the US economy, said Pushkov.

Pushkov's comments were made as G7 leaders were meeting in Kruen in the Bavarian Alps. Russia was expelled from the group last year over reunification with Crimea.

BRICS skyrocketing

Since being established in 2006, the BRICS group has proposed many projects aimed at enhancing business relations between the members.

In July 2014, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed a $100 billion BRICS New Development Bank intended to rival the IMF and World Bank and sponsor business projects of the group.

Russia expects to launch the bank as well as a currency reserve pool worth another $100 billion at the July BRICS summit in Ufa, said Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among other projects is a special business travel card which will simplify visa procedures and boost business between members.

BRICS account for more than 40 percent of the world's population and about 30 percent of the world's GDP.