BRICS intra-South trade surpasses the volume of trade between the global South and the global North, defying the widely held belief that developing countries mainly trade with Western nations, according to Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Pankin.
"Few people promote these figures, although we try to publicize them. As of now, BRICS countries account for 35% of the world's GDP, whereas the G7 countries account for 30%," he said, speaking at a round table in the Federation Council.
This represents a remarkable proportion, which would have been inconceivable 30 to 40 years ago, he added.
"Therefore, we have adopted a strategy for global diversification of international cooperation with all regions of the South, including Asia, Africa, and Latin America. [...] This includes building logistical chains, production chains, household chains, and transportation chains that would be minimally influenced by Western countries, institutions, and their agents," Pankin pointed out.
Earlier in June, South Africa's sous-Sherpa to BRICS, Ben Joubert, told Sputnik Africa that conducting trade in national currencies marks "a very important step towards gaining critical mass in the field of intra-BRICS trade." This approach also results in significant savings on transaction costs, which is crucial for BRICS members, as they are emerging and developing nations that cannot afford to "have money to spend on non-core business."