If we look out 30 years, our five countries should be a total market capitalization in trillions, which would be about three times the United States’ at the current rates of growth by 2050. So, the growth in the BRICS is going to be tremendous — Shiv Vikram Khemka, Vice Chairman, SUN Group.

Twenty-five per cent of the world’s forest yield is located in Russia, 33% of softwood. In total, the BRICS nations account for 47% of the world’s total forest yield, which is a major advantage. By pooling our efforts, we will be able to gain a foothold in third country markets — Miron Tatsun, President, Union of Timber Manufacturers and Exporters of Russia.

Let us look at our countries today. If you look at our five countries in BRICS, the GDP of all these countries put together with a population of about 3 billion people, is approximately the same as the United States’, with a population of 300 million people. Our productivity in comparison to the United States is very low today — Shiv Vikram Khemka, Vice Chairman, SUN Group.

Up to a certain point, the innovation ecosystem in our country supports companies and start-ups through grants, which help developers create a prototype. Then, these companies hit a ceiling – they need more serious investment, but we have no financial instruments to enable this — Aleksey Ivanchenko, Deputy Chairman, Head of Innovation and Digital Economy, State Development Corporation "VEB.RF" .

To me the challenge of BRICS countries is really – do we work well as a team and think about the joint interests of us as a block, or do we think about a narrow interest as a country just trying to help ourselves as part of BRICS? — Shiv Vikram Khemka, Vice Chairman, SUN Group.

We have to create a [legislative] framework which will operate throughout our space and which would make the environment attractive to IT companies. At the same time, it should protect the rights of our citizens and facilitate and codify work with IT companies — Sergey Zhigarev, State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Innovative Development, and Entrepreneurship .

All the measures will be in place by the end of 2019–20. A regulatory framework will be adopted, and an entire range of draft bills drawn up, which will prepare us for the digital economy — Aleksey Ivanchenko, Deputy Chairman, Head of Innovation and Digital Economy, State Development Corporation "VEB.RF" .

The development of common standards of conduct in the international digital space must be one of the priority areas of development. The BRICS nations must play a special role in drawing up these rules — Anna Nesterova, Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Global Rus Trade; Head, BRICS Business Council Russian Working Group on the Digital Economy; Member, Presidium of the General Council of Business Russia.

Our objective going forward is to identify the technologies which we could jointly implement in our countries, and jointly provide transfers from other countries — Anton Inyutsyn, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

We need to work on increasing demand for innovation from major companies and corporations which could supply their relevant markets — Aleksey Ivanchenko, Deputy Chairman, Head of Innovation and Digital Economy, State Development Corporation "VEB.RF" .

We may represent different countries, but we are united by innovation. Developing companies can be found in the regions of our countries, and we should take note of their potential. This is a key task for regional governments. We want to push this agenda to the fore at the upcoming forums [SCO and BRICS in Chelyabinsk in 2020, – Ed.] — Alexey Texler, Acting Governor of Chelyabinsk region.

We use data for innovation. We use the GLONASS system and an IT system to manage all business flows. We also use blockchain technology, which allows us to interact effectively with customers, ports, and customs — Lirong Xu, Chairman of the Board of Directors, China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited.

To date, [the New Development Bank] has approved projects totalling USD 9.2 billion in value. The number of confirmed projects depends on the growth of capital. All countries are very careful to fulfil their obligations. Russia and China are moving slightly ahead. In terms of authorized capital, the portfolio is growing too. By the end of the year, we expect that the overall portfolio will be worth USD 16 billion. The total volume of loans approved for Russia is USD 1.5 billion — Vladimir Kazbekov, Vice President, New Development Bank.

We are currently moving towards establishing a community of rating agencies, which will work to the same methodology. This is preferable to creating a national rating agency, which could deprive local agencies in participating countries the chance to work internationally — Igor Zelezetsky, Chief Executive Officer, Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA).

We have created a business market, a platform not only for members of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but for the regions. In the past year, 30 chambers of commerce and industry have joined us. We have provided the opportunity to find suppliers and contractors through commercial tenders. We have sent collaboration proposals to all chambers of commerce and industry in the BRICS capitals — Vladimir Platonov, President, Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

We expect the BRICS energy platform to become a fully-fledged player and in the future transform into an authoritative energy agency not only in the BRICS nations, but among respected investment development institutions, banks, and consulting companies — Anton Inyutsyn, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.