Trade liberalization, national currencies pegged to the US dollar, and other economic rules imposed on the developing world by the West are now being thoroughly reviewed by the so-called Global South, which has recently begun to break away from the unipolar world order, a recent article in the US media has indicated.
The article, published in Bloomberg, emphasized that the Global South would no longer be satisfied with maintaining the status quo, the old world order that had prevailed since World War II and under which the United States had sought to bind every aspect of the world's life to its institutions. The authors recalled most recent developments in the Global South in support of their point of view.
Ending West's Exploitation of Natural Resources
In particular, developing countries are seeking full control over their natural resources, reordering a colonial relationship with the West, and insisting on the development of their own processing sectors so that the value of these resources remains within their territories.
Countries such as Zimbabwe and Namibia started to introduce restrictive measures on the export of lithium, a crucial component of batteries used in numerous modern devices. Zimbabwe's government stated that it was losing €1.7 billion annually by exporting the mineral unprocessed.
Joining the Southern African countries, Ghana is also preparing to ban exports of lithium. Moreover, the nation announced plans to halt exporting bauxite and iron ore in unprocessed form as part of a policy to keep Ghana at the top of the mining value chain. According to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the government's priority is to "ensure that the highest value of these minerals remains within Ghana."
Moving Away From US Dollar
The authors recalled the words of Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who wondered why every country should be tied to the dollar for trade and "who decided that the dollar would be the world's currency." He made the remarks during an official visit to China in April. Pointing to the fact that developing nations could use their own currencies instead, he suggested that the BRICS bank could have a currency to finance trade between the member states.
His statement is echoed by Dilma Rousseff, head of the New BRICS Development Bank, who said the bank is interested in expanding the use of national currencies in settlements to strengthen the markets of the member countries.
On July 26, on the eve of the Second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that settlements in national currencies among BRICS nations are currently on the rise.
The de-dollarization drive is also gaining momentum in Africa. One of the continent's strongest proponents of the idea of moving to national currencies, Kenyan President William Ruto, has repeatedly questioned the need to use the dollar in intra-African transactions.
Moreover, African leaders have long been advocating for changes in the global financial architecture, calling for far-reaching reforms aimed at altering the very structure of international finance to make it more favorable to developing countries. According to Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the global financial system has failed to provide the world with the necessary resources and has neglected the needs of developing nations, holding them back.
No Longer Picking Sides
The article also pointed to the current geopolitical context, in which developing countries are no longer choosing sides in the confrontation between the United States and China or the West and Russia. It was noted that nations such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and others tend to remain neutral in the face of growing tensions between the West and Russia or China.
The authors cited former US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who stated that the US has hardly offered a compelling alternative, so "the Global South has decided to come up with a vision of its own."
For example, the BRICS association is becoming attractive to many nations as it does not have any confrontational or hidden agenda, while the five members interact on the basis of agreed approaches, and mutual respect, according to experts.
South Africa's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, recently announced that 23 countries had submitted formal applications, while there are even "more informal approaches about the possibilities of BRICS membership." Among the nations that have formally requested to become BRICS members are six African states, including Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia,, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal.
Last month, speaking at a reception in honor of the participants of the Russia-Africa Summit, President Putin reiterated that Russia and African nations jointly advocate for the establishment of a fair multipolar world order based on the principles of equality. He noted that Africa is becoming a new center of power, while the ideas of freedom, integrity and sovereignty shared by African leaders are playing a crucial role in the process of "establishing a multipolar world."