The BRICS nations are reportedly working on developing a new form of currency, which is expected to be discussed at the next BRICS leaders’ summit, according to a top Russian official. “The transition to settlements in national currencies is the first step.
The next one is to provide the circulation of digital or any other form of a fundamentally new currency in the nearest future,” the deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, Alexander Babakov, was quoted as saying. Moscow has found itself reeling under an avalanche of sanctions and restrictions as the Ukraine Russia war rages.
Against this backdrop, President Vladimir Putin adopted a new foreign policy this week, identifying China and India as its main allies on the world stage. Now, the ties between the three nations (and a few others) appear poised to go a step further with the formation of a new currency
Babakov also stated that a single currency could likely emerge within BRICS, and this would be pegged not just to the value of gold but also to “other groups of products, rare-earth elements, or soil.” BRICS member states account for more than 40 percent of the global population and around a quarter of the global GDP.
In recent months, the group has been positioning itself as the Global South’s alternative to the G7 group of nations. Several nations in West Asia and North Africa have expressed interest in joining the bloc, including Saudi Arabia and Algeria. Last year, Iran officially applied to join BRICS. Earlier this month, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor revealed that global interest in BRICS is “huge,” adding that she had 12 letters from interested countries on her desk, including the UAE, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico, and Nigeria. Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), urged the BRICS bloc to grow and challenge the dollar’s hegemony this week
He stated that “the U.S. dollar plays a far too dominant role in global finance” in a paper that was published in the Global Policy journal on March 26, 2023.
