The 15th BRICS
Summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, concluded with significant outcomes that assert the bloc's centrality in the global geopolitical landscape,
Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's Minister of Finance, told
Sputnik Africa in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the summit.
Notably, the summit resulted in the invitation of Egypt and Ethiopia as full members of BRICS, effective from January 1, 2024. Beyond Africa, Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have also been invited to join the bloc early next year, further expanding the group's reach and influence.
Minister Godongwana said that the expansion of BRICS membership, particularly with the addition of African nations, reflects the bloc's commitment to deepening relationships within the global South.
One of the key agreements reached at the summit was the intention to use local currencies for trading among BRICS member countries. According to Godongwana, this move aims to reduce reliance on foreign currencies and mitigate the impact of currency fluctuations.
"So we've also agreed, of interest to us as ministers of finance, to try to use local currencies in trading amongst ourselves," he said. "Also ensuring that the [New Development Bank] NDB in its financing operations, it does take loans from local currencies to finance projects in local currencies to avoid us facing currency fluctuations."
Commenting on the perception of BRICS as an alternative to the Western-dominated global system, Minister Godongwana emphasized that the bloc seeks to strengthen relationships within the global South rather than develop an
anti-West perspective.
He stressed that the focus is on fostering cooperation and creating a more inclusive global order.
It's worth noting that the BRICS economic alliance, currently consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, represents approximately 42% of the world's population (45% after the expansion), 31.5% of the world's GDP (over 37 after the expansion) and 30% of the world's territory (36% after the expansion).
The inclusion of
Egypt and
Ethiopia as BRICS members is seen as a significant development for both Africa and the continent as a whole.
Minister Godongwana highlighted that Egypt is already a member of the NDB, as reflecting the progress made at the bank level in expanding African representation within BRICS.
"It's an important development that we have Egypt and Ethiopia as part of the BRICS membership now. Mind you, we've already done the expansion at the bank level. Egypt's also a member of the NDB," he said.
Regarding the process of de-dollarization, Minister Godongwana acknowledged the challenges it presents.
He highlighted China's ongoing efforts to establish the Chinese Yuan (CNY), also known as the Renminbi (RMB), as a reserve currency and clarified that the focus is not on
completely de-dollarizing, but on utilizing local currencies in bilateral trade.