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IFE Forum BRICS 2024: Bloc Offers Path to Financial Autonomy for Africa, Says Zambian Participant

18:32, 28 May 2024

Muhammad Nooh Osman

Writer/Editor

On May 27-28, Moscow hosted the BRICS International Financial and Economic Forum (IFE Forum BRICS). The event brought together over 700 guests and tens of thousands of online participants from around the world. It focused on the development of independent financial instruments within the BRICS framework and beyond in a changing global landscape.

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The inclusion of non-member countries in the IFE Forum BRICS 2024 allows them to engage with the economic grouping and potentially explore a new path to financial autonomy, Gift Kangel, President of the Association of Zambian Students in Russia, told Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the event.

Kangel, who is also a representative of the FMDE movement, which focuses on financial management, youth development and empowerment, stressed the importance of events such as the IFE Forum BRICS, highlighting the forum's role in facilitating dialogue and laying the groundwork for potential partnerships.

“Before getting to any negotiations or really understanding the motives of a potential partner, you need to be able to sit down and interact with them and understand who they are,” he explained.

Addressing the role of BRICS and BRICS Plus in the global financial trading system, Kangel criticized the current system's reliance on a single dominant player. He emphasized the importance of the BRICS approach, which gives member states greater autonomy in shaping financial regulations.

“We're at a situation where only one key player gets to regulate how everything is done. And I think we can see that from the power of the dollar […] So the one who owns the dollar gets to stipulate how everything is done on the market,” he stated.

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He argued that the dollarization of the global economy forces African countries, for example, to depend on the dollar. BRICS, on the other hand, empowers each member to participate in shaping the trading system, Kangel said.

“But when you look at the approach of the BRICS and the BRICS Plus, you have a situation where each member gets to have a say on how the trading system really gets to run,” Kangel said. “So I feel like it's a key approach. It's a game changer in that it will allow countries to be able to exercise autonomy over how these things are done on a global scale.”

Acknowledging the challenges of dollarization for African countries, Kangel emphasized the need to shift to trade in national currencies. He highlighted the potential of BRICS as an alternative platform to promote this shift and foster financial autonomy.

“So we need to get to a place where everyone has an equal say in how certain things are done, and this is exactly what de-dollarization will bring to the table,” he told Sputnik Africa. “So BRICS will stand as an alternative in that it is saying their approach is equal treatment, their approach is equal partnership, their approach is a 50-50 situation, their approach is a win-win situation.”