BRICS summit in Rio: Bloc may push trade in local currencies, countries differ on common foreign money; India says discussions still at ‘early stage’

Ahead of the July 6–7 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, senior diplomats from main member nations mentioned the grouping is more likely to intensify efforts towards settling trade in nationwide currencies, whilst they dominated out any imminent transfer towards a unified BRICS foreign money.At a convention co-hosted by the Embassy of Brazil and Centre for Global India Insights (CGII) on Friday, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov described BRICS as “a serious platform for discussing joint solutions to big challenges,” whereas reaffirming Moscow’s help for trade in local currencies.“BRICS is not a counter-bloc. It is a centre of gravity for countries seeking mutual respect and non-interference,” mentioned Alipov, rejecting solutions that the group was being formed as an anti-West coalition, reported PTI. He famous that trade in nationwide currencies was already underway between BRICS members.India’s BRICS Sherpa and Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Dammu Ravi, mentioned discussions round a BRICS common foreign money are “at a very early stage.”“Today, for now, we are only looking at trade settlement in national currencies. Harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies is very, very difficult to achieve,” he mentioned.Brazilian Ambassador Kenneth da Nobrega echoed the sentiment, including that whereas deeper integration like a common foreign money requires years of coverage alignment, local foreign money trade was already displaying outcomes. “It’s a long way. But trading in local currencies? That’s already working,” Nobrega mentioned.The summit comes amid geopolitical unease following warnings by President Donald Trump in opposition to any formal transfer by BRICS nations to undermine the US greenback’s dominance in international trade. The Trump administration’s tariffs have already drawn concern amongst growing economies.The summit is about to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and leaders of newly inducted members akin to Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, and Indonesia.Ambassador Ina Krisnamurthi of Indonesia known as for systemic reform, saying, “Our international order, the rules-based system, is crashing into the limits of its founding vision.” She mentioned BRICS should evolve from “just dialogue to delivery,” focusing on local weather finance, humanitarian reduction, and information fairness.“Right now, the Global South represents 85 per cent of the world’s population and 39 per cent of global GDP,” Krisnamurthi famous. “Yet multilateral institutions do not reflect this reality.”Citing a surge in the center class throughout India, China and ASEAN, she mentioned: “In 2000, only 150 million enjoyed middle-class living standards. Today, that number is 1.5 billion — double the total population of Western countries.”Egyptian envoy Kamel Galal mentioned Cairo had at all times seen itself as a pure a part of the bloc. “We are keen that the group should focus on areas of cooperation that enjoy consensus, rather than divisive issues,” he mentioned, stressing a development-first agenda for Africa and the Middle East.Touching on international flashpoints like Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Sudan, Galal known as for reforming international establishments to higher mirror “the evolving dynamics and rising role of developing countries.”Quoting the Egyptian Book of the Dead, he added, “What I hate is ignorance, smallness of imagination, the eye that sees no further than its own idol. All things are possible. Who you are is limited by who you think you are.”Replacing the oft-cited “conflict, crisis and challenge” narrative, Galal proposed a brand new imaginative and prescient for BRICS: “collaboration, complementarity, consensus and cohesion.”The panel concluded with a Q&A session that targeted on the institutional way forward for BRICS, prospects of a unified foreign money, and the bloc’s ambitions beneath the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework.