India, Sept. 12 -- BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors called for greater representation of emerging-market and developing economies in the IMF and World Bank, and criticised unilateral tariffs and trade measures, as the expanded bloc sought to strengthen financial cooperation amid rising geopolitical and economic fragmentation.

In a joint statement issued after meeting here, the ministers and central bank governors backed greater use of local currencies for trade and investment, and pushed ahead with work on cross-border payment systems.

The global economy, they said, faced heightened risks from geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, protectionism, policy uncertainty, fiscal and inflationary pressures, debt and fina...