The use of national currencies in trade with Moscow has many advantages, as it would reduce exchange rate risks and transaction costs in international trade between Africa and Russia, Dr. Abdulkareem Alhassan, Director Center for General Studies, Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, tells Global South Pole.
Dr. Alhassan further adds that it can create new funding avenues for the continent and improve relations with Russia.
“I think this payment in national currencies will strengthen relationship with Russia and the partners of Russia in the BRICS. So that will, in total, improve the trade balances of the African countries plus or minus will be a positive engagement to the trade balances of those countries,” he explains.
Ravinder Rena, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Management Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, shares his vision of BRICS and believes the bloc offers hope and could play a significant role in the global effort to de-dollarize.
“BRICS is not only a forum that represents the few countries that have joined, but it is also a mouthpiece of all the developing nations in the world, and it is the beacon of hope for the developing countries of the global South. So we need to find this alternative currency, and we need to replace [the] US dollar, and China and Russia are all working towards that,” Rena stresses.
The academician further criticizes the role of financial institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, which he believes the US uses to maintain its global dominance, for imposing stringent conditions on African nations that have hindered their development.
“We need to have a common currency for our people within our African continent, or the goods and services should be exchanged with their currencies. That will help a lot. We don't need to depend upon these dollars and having those austerity conditions that are imposed on us,” he asserts.
Dr. Alhassan believes that the global financial architecture needs to be reformed, as the US has long used these institutions to maintain its hegemony in the international economy. Meanwhile, Prof. Rena argues that there is great potential in Africa and that Russia, as well as the BRICS, will play a pivotal role in the future of the continent.
To find out what else our guests had to say, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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