Putin views attempts to undermine or lower WTO's role as counterproductive
OSAKA. June 28 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has described attempts to undermine the WTO's role in global trade as inadmissible and called for elaborating more transparent rules for transnational corporations.
"We view any attempts to undermine the WTO or lower its role as counterproductive," Putin said at the BRICS summit on the sidelines of G20 Osaka summit.
It is also necessary to "formalize clear and explicit norms of interaction in the field of investment, services, and infrastructural development," Putin said.
"No doubt, clear and explicit rules should also be formulated for transnational corporations in order to prevent monopolization of markets and guarantee free access to technologies," he said.
"Global trade needs to adjust to modern realities, and the task of reforming the WTO becomes a priority in this context," Putin said.
He invited BRICS leaders "to search for solutions and variants of possible agreements, which could lay a foundation for debates between a broader range of interested states."
"This concerns, in particular, the difficulties encountered by global trade," Putin said.
BRICS states "should take initiative in forming a fairer and more stable model of global development," he said.
"It is important not just to acknowledge the existent problems. Let us search for solutions together," Putin said.
"The global economic situation is disquieting: world trade stops being a driver of economic growth and experiences a mounting burden of protectionism and politically motivated restrictions and barriers," he said.