Connectivity without intermediaries: what unites BRICS, Asia, and the Global South

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At the Vladivostok branch of the National Centre RUSSIA, the Open Dialogue session focused on new financial and investment solutions for the countries of the Global Majority. The session was moderated by Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia.

During the third segment of the discussion, on the topic "New Financial and Investment Mechanisms for the Global Majority", participants stressed that in a changing world economy, resilience cannot be ensured without digital integration and the development of interoperable settlement systems.

Rupa Chanda, Director of the Trade, Investment and Innovation Division at UN ESCAP, emphasised that the digitalisation of financial settlements cannot be viewed in isolation from other processes.

"Financial solutions must be embedded in a broader ecosystem — trade, investment, and logistics. There are already initiatives to digitalise trade and financial flows, as well as to introduce ‘smart’ logistics, and they need to be integrated into a single whole," the expert said.

Such an approach will allow the countries of the Global South not only to increase the efficiency of settlements but also to strengthen their positions in international trade.

She also noted that digitalisation and new technologies, including blockchain, can play a significant role in building interoperable systems and alternative financial mechanisms. At the same time, she stressed, the digitalisation of settlements must not be considered in isolation.

According to her, this is especially important because most cross-border payments are directly linked to trade and investment flows.

"If we manage to embed financial settlement mechanisms into the broader digital agenda, the effect will be significantly greater," Rupa Chanda underlined.

Speaking at the session, Ilya Ivaninsky, Director of the Centre for Business Education and Analytics at Central University, stressed that real connectivity between markets is impossible without investment.

"Connectivity does not work well without money," he noted, recalling that developing countries today form the centre of the global economy: they account for more than 60% of global GDP and over 90% of the world’s population. According to him, this is where future economic growth is concentrated.

At the same time, Ivaninsky pointed out that the international monetary and financial system has not yet adapted to this reality:

"Neither payments, nor representation in organisations, nor reserves, nor investment — not a single component matches the new conditions."

The global investment gap is estimated at more than 4 trillion US dollars, and the problem is particularly acute in the countries of the Global South.

The speaker explained in detail what these difficulties are linked to. In developing countries, investment largely relies on borrowed funds:

"Our debt-to-equity ratio is 2 to 1, whereas in developed countries it is 1 to 1." In addition, a significant share of debt is short-term, with around 40% due to be repaid as early as 2027. The cost of capital is also unfairly inflated. "If our risk is higher by 1.5%, then the cost of capital is higher by 6.6%. That is four times the actual level of risk," he stressed.

Another problem, the expert said, is low market connectivity: the bulk of foreign investment flowing into developing countries comes from developed ones, and conversely — most investment from the Global South is channelled into developed markets.

"When we see a low degree of connectivity in the 21st century, a logical solution is a new investment platform," Ivaninsky stated.

In his view, such a platform could link BRICS and the Global Majority. It should include a showcase of long-term infrastructure projects, investor-friendly quality criteria, and effective risk-mitigation tools.

"States can help by buying junior tranches or providing guarantees," he noted.

Ivaninsky proposed a two-tier architecture for the platform: the selection of projects and investors at the national level; mutual investment and netting at the international level.

He also drew attention to technological opportunities:

"Blockchain is already mentioned today as a tool for making payments and settlements. Modern digital instruments make such operations cheap and transparent."

According to him, at the centre of the platform there could be a digital investment asset — risk-free and protected from inflation.

The expert also presented economic calculations: if countries invest at least 10 billion US dollars annually, this could generate up to 100 billion US dollars in additional GDP per year.

"For economies with a combined GDP of more than 60 trillion US dollars, such investments are insignificant, while the effect could amount to a quarter of a per cent of global GDP," he noted.

"It is great that we are discussing such initiatives on these platforms. Hopefully this will help bring them to life more quickly," Ivaninsky concluded.

Speaking at the session, Dr Teguh Yudo Wicaksono noted that the countries of the Asia-Pacific region face a serious challenge. According to him, the region’s economy is largely dependent on trade and markets, and in recent years states have already gone through tough lessons of survival in times of crisis.

"We have learned hard lessons related to the challenges of relying on a single currency as the main means of payment," he stressed.

The consequences of such an approach have been extremely tangible, and that is why new strategies are now being proposed, some of which are already being discussed in Arab countries.

In his speech, Dr Teguh Yudo Wicaksono of Indonesia said that his country is entering into agreements with key trading partners — Malaysia, Vietnam, and China — to switch to settlements in national currencies.

"We are moving away from dollar dependence. It would be useful if digital payment instruments were also more widely adopted in Russia," he noted.

He added that about 38 small producers have now been consolidated, which makes it possible to bypass undesirable global processes and build their own system.

"This strengthens the resilience of our economy," the expert said.

According to him, regional cooperation is particularly important for the countries of the Pacific and the Asia-Pacific regions, as it plays a key role in ensuring cross-border transactions. Existing estimates show that already this year the region may receive more than 3 billion US dollars in revenue, which would mean growth of around 25%.

"Issues of cross-border payments show that Asia is capable of serving as a model of practical solutions that help withstand Western pressure," Wicaksono underlined.

In conclusion, he noted that economic independence is essential, but it should be a complement to the overall global system: " This is the only way to ensure efficiency, liquidity, and stability."

About the Open Dialogue

The first Open Dialogue "The Future of the World. New Platform for Global Growth", aimed at creating a platform for discussion on the future of the world economy, was held at the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow from 28 to 30 April. The Open Dialogue brought together nearly 700 essays from 102 countries. The authors included representatives of academia, business, government agencies, as well as youth and expert communities.

More than 100 guests from 48 countries, representing all continents of the world, took part in the in-person programme in Moscow. Among them were world-class experts as well as essay authors.

The most popular topic among essay authors in the competition was "Investments in Human Capital" (41%), followed by "Investments in Connectivity" (24%), "Investments in Technology" (22%), and "Investments in the Environment" (13%).

The Open Dialogue continued at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. On 18 June, the session "Shaping a New Platform for Global Growth", organised by the National Centre RUSSIA, took place. The session was moderated by Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia, who outlined the main challenges and priorities of the countries of the Global Majority, which are shaping the architecture of the new global order. The session also featured the presentation of the Report on the results of the Open Dialogue, prepared by the partner of the National Centre RUSSIA — the Centre for Cross-Sectoral Expertise "Third Rome". The document provides an analytical overview of global trends identified by experts and participants of the Open Dialogue from more than 100 countries.

At the request of essay authors and experts, the organising committee decided that the Open Dialogue would be held annually. Next year it will become more ambitious, with additional practical days and new opportunities for participants to engage and to get acquainted with the materials of each pitch session.

The recording of the broadcast of the expert session of the Open Dialogue in Vladivostok is available on the russia.ru website and on the official social media pages of the National Centre RUSSIA.