Unilateral sanctions, such as the ones imposed by the US, may only push countries towards using new currencies instead of the US dollar, Thembinkosi Bonakele, Witwatersrand University, ex-commissioner at the Competition Commission of South Africa, told Sputnik.
"When you have a unilateral decision to sanction, then the countries start wanting to opt out of the systems that would expose them to these kinds of sanctions," the expert outlined. "And this is really where the policy must lead to change, careful. So the movement, I think the consensus around the use of the dollar."
The expert stated that such unilateralism in terms of sanctions affects countries greatly, adding that it is the UN's task to overview and manage sanctions regimes towards countries.
"And this issue is around, again, unilateralism. You see, a sanctions regime is a very drastic step towards a country and sanctions are better managed through the United Nations. And the UN does have this possibility. We know that it can support sanctions."
As many nations, not only in Africa, but also all across the globe, have in recent years and months expressed eagerness to join BRICS, Bonakele outlined that in the future, the BRICS platform will become even more desirable due to its multilateral and diverse nature.
Bonakele stressed that he expects the BRICS agenda to include trade in addition to global politics in the future, adding that the multilateral cooperation format, such as BRICS, has a potential still unexploited.