7h05 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Luc Jose A.

The economic center of gravity is shifting southward, and both Beijing and Moscow want to set the pace. Ahead of the BRICS summit in Rio, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have formalized an unprecedented initiative: a joint investment platform dedicated to Global South countries. Designed as a lever of influence and emancipation from the circuits dominated by the West, this announcement marks a key milestone in the construction of an alternative financial order led by emerging powers.

In Brief Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are about to launch a BRICS investment platform dedicated to Global South countries.

The project, revealed by the Kremlin, will be officially presented at the BRICS summit in July in Rio de Janeiro.

This platform aims to offer an alternative to financial institutions dominated by the West, such as the IMF or the World Bank.

Initial information indicates a priority targeting of South Asian, African, and Latin American economies.

The BRICS Project : An Investment Platform for the Global South

While the hegemony of the dollar is coming to an end, a new investment platform initiated by Moscow and supported by Beijing, aimed at the Global South, is being prepared within BRICS. It was Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic advisor, who revealed its outlines in a statement :

Heads of State will discuss promoting the Russian initiatives formulated during last year’s BRICS summit in Kazan. These initiatives specifically concern a new investment platform.

This project, whose details are expected to be unveiled at the July BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, fits into a declared ambition to offer an alternative economic framework to emerging countries.

The known elements so far are as follows :

The origin of the project : first proposed by Vladimir Putin at the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan ;

The stated goal : to offer new investment options “for our countries and partners among representatives of the Global South” ;

The scope : a primary focus on the economies of South Asia, Africa, and Latin America ;

The geopolitical reach : a possible opening to non-BRICS member states, in a logic of expanding South-South influence ;

The timeline: an official presentation is expected at the Rio summit in early July.

With this platform, BRICS intends to strengthen their economic cooperation while challenging the hegemony of Western financial institutions. For both Moscow and Beijing, this is a further step toward a multipolar world economic order led by emerging powers.

Beyond the stated intentions, the platform project implies a global reorientation of the world financial architecture. Putin stressed the necessity of designing a secure investment channel “without the involvement of third countries”, reflecting an explicit desire to bypass dollar-dominated systems and Western financial centers.

Although the technical details have not yet been specified, a digital dimension seems to be considered. Indeed, according to Vladimir Putin’s statements, “digital assets” could play a role in this structure, which would facilitate capital transfers to emerging markets.

This openness to cryptos opens the door to a range of hypotheses : tokenization of projects, inter-BRICS blockchain infrastructure, or eventually the emergence of a common settlement asset. None of this has been confirmed, but the context is favorable.

BRICS has been considering for several years the creation of a common currency or an alternative clearing system, and this investment project could be a prelude to that.

While the geopolitical ambition is clear, the economic implications remain to be measured. This platform could enhance the BRICS bloc’s attractiveness to Global South countries seeking financing, while accelerating the fragmentation of the international monetary order, as evidenced by the transition towards local currencies. The Rio summit will be decisive. It will determine if this vision remains a statement of intent or is quickly translated into a functional architecture.

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