- Sputnik Africa, 1920
2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg
The 15th BRICS summit will take place from August 22-24 in Johannesburg, South Africa, which assumed the rotating BRICS presidency in January 2023.

South African Sherpa: Too Early to Talk About BRICS Currency

© AP Photo / Kin Cheung A woman walks by a money exchange shop decorated with different countries currency banknotes at Central, a business district in Hong Kong, Aug. 6, 2019.
 A woman walks by a money exchange shop decorated with different countries currency banknotes at Central, a business district in Hong Kong, Aug. 6, 2019. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 22.08.2023
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The BRICS group of major emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is holding a summit in Johannesburg on August 22-24. The summit's agenda includes economic relations, trade infrastructure and reducing the member states' reliance on the US dollar.
South Africa's BRICS sherpa told Sputnik on the sidelines of the bloc's summit in Johannesburg that the five emerging economies would focus on bolstering trade in their local currencies to gain greater independence from the dollar, rather than launching a common currency.
"The currency is being discussed but let me correct: It’s not about a BRICS currency. It is too early to talk about a BRICS currency," Anil Sooklal said.
"What we are talking about is creating more financial inclusion in terms of global financial transactions, global financial trade and how we conduct our payment," he added.
Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa will discuss "deepening interaction among ourselves using local currencies," the ambassador-at-large said.
Men stand next to an installation with the logo of BRICS during the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 22.08.2023
2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg
BRICS Aims To Reduce Dollar Dependence, Says SA Deputy President
He insisted that the five, as well as the Global South, needed to be able to borrow and make payment settlements in their own currencies, instead of being dependent on the dollar and the euro and losing money to currency conversion.
"We have started a momentum in terms of the global financial architecture where countries — not just BRICS but from the Global South, Africa included, — are saying that we need to trade and do business in our local currencies," the envoy explained.
African central banks have already begun implementing a pan-African payment system to facilitate trade using local currencies, Sooklal said. African nations expect it to save them an equivalent of $5 billion dollars annually in currency conversion costs.
South Africa Deputy President Paul Mashatile told BRICS business leaders on Monday that increasing independence from the greenback would be high on the agenda at the bloc’s meeting on Tuesday, according to western media.
In July 2014, the New BRICS Development Bank was established. Its principal aim is to finance stable infrastructure and development projects in BRICS's member states and developing countries in general.
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