Thu 27 July 2023:
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said that Moscow intends to work with the leaders of Africa to weaken the US dollar, according to a report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Zakharova said that the US is using the dollar not only as a tool to fight for advantage, but also as “a means of realising its aggression”.
Russian and African leaders are set to meet at a high-level summit in Saint Petersburg later this week.
African leaders are expected to discuss a peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is keen to discuss the export of grains to Africa.
BRICS to discuss dollar alternatives
As South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit in its financial hub Johannesburg from August 22 to 24, the five BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – will discuss establishing sustainable payment mechanisms for mutual trade, among the key issues to be discussed at the summit.
“Given the current international situation, this issue will be addressed during the upcoming meeting of the bloc’s leaders,” the Russian ministry said, RT reported on July 21.
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor said after the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting on June 1 that the New Development Bank (NDB) is studying the potential use of alternative currencies to the dollar “to ensure that we do not become victim to sanctions,” Reuters reported.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in April called on BRICS countries to come up with an alternative to the dollar in foreign trade, Bloomberg reported.
According to data provided by Acorn Macro Consulting, a UK-based macroeconomic research firm, the BRICS bloc accounts for 31.5 percent of global GDP, surpassing the G7, which currently accounts for just 30.7 percent.
More than 40 countries have indicated an interest in joining the BRICS bloc, according to South Africa’s ambassador to the bloc, Anil Sooklal.
In the latest development, Algeria has applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of the NDB with an amount of $1.5 billion, Reuters reported on Saturday.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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