BRICS Summit Eyes De-Dollarization

The upcoming BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit set next month in South Africa will tackle de-dollarization or the settlement of trades among the countries in their local currencies.

Photo Insert: During the meetings, participants are expected to discuss the possibility of creating a BRICS currency as well as forming pooled reserves for an expanded BRICS-plus format that would include everything from oil to semiconductors to agricultural commodities.

Reports said that South African Ambassador-at-large Anil Sookla announced that the BRICS grouping is looking at switching away from the dollar in the settlement of their trades although Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are pushing for a so-called BRICS currency.

At least 22 heads of state are expected to attend the summit and more than 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, and Argentina, have expressed interest in joining the bloc.

This means the bloc could soon gain new power and standing.

During the meetings, participants are expected to discuss the possibility of creating a BRICS currency as well as forming pooled reserves for an expanded BRICS-plus format that would include everything from oil to semiconductors to agricultural commodities.

Experts said that the upcoming BRICS summit could also prove to be the group’s most important meeting. If member countries find successful strategies to overcome the geopolitical minefield, the grouping is seen to be unrivaled on the planet.

Earlier, in a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, attended by 49 of the 54 countries of the African continent, 17 of which were represented by heads of state, the participants discussed cooperation at all levels, including agriculture, medicine, and education.

African leaders, for their part, emphasized that despite Western pressure, they will cooperate with those who look at them as equals. Experts view the Russia-Africa Summit as an excellent initiative and a new platform on the way to the formation of a multipolar world.

During the summit, Dilma Rousseff, President of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), said: “The positive role of transition economies on the world stage is becoming more and more visible every time, especially against the background of the negative processes taking place in the world.”

She also said that” the fact that protectionist policies and unilateralism seriously harm developing countries is becoming more and more obvious.”

She drew attention to the fact that the policy of unilateral sanctions of individual countries trying to extend their legislation to foreign jurisdictions not only does not solve the existing world problems but also seriously aggravates them.

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