"BRICS currency is a very complex discussion": Brazil's Ambassador to India
New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): Brazil's Ambassador to India, Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega said on Friday that BRICS currency is an aspirational objective and not something that will happen in the short term.
Ambassador said that BRICS countries have already been trading in local currency and one should not relate this to de-dollarisation.
'BRICS currency is a very complex discussion. An agreement among 11 members of in terms of harmonising their fiscal and monetary policy is very complex. I think this is an aspirational objective, not something that will be reaped in the short term,' he told ANI.
Nobrega further said that the idea of BRICS currency is one more 'option' for countries to do business.
'But when it comes to trade in local currencies, this can be envisaged and enforced in the short term... We have already been trading in local currency, and this is nothing new, and nothing really that we should relate to move towards de-dollarisation...It's just an option for countries for businesses to do, to engage in trade and investment,' he said.
He told ANI that they have a few priorities to look forward in their BRICS chairpersonship.
'The first being reform of multilateral institutions, so that emerging economies like Brazil and India have a voice.'
'You know we have priorities in our chairship. The first is reform of multilateral institutions. This is a founding platform of BRICS. Since its inception, BRICS has stood for the reform of global multilateral institutions so that countries emerging countries like Brazil and India will have more voice, more influence on the elaboration of the rulemaking of international institutions,' he said.
Another priority that they have is boosting partnerships in the health sector.
'The second is health. It basically boosts partnerships in public health like development of vaccines, development of medicines to cure, Neglected disease, tropical disease. So this is another another priority,' he said.
'Third priority for Brazil is regulation of artificial intelligence,' he said.
'The third priority is regulation, multilateral regulation of artificial intelligence so that artificial intelligence will be multilateral regulator to the benefit of a larger number of countries. I think this is another one,' he said.
He said that fourth priority was financial cooperation and fifth was accommodating new members in the working of BRICS.
'Fourth is economic and financial cooperation. Fifth is what we have called a little bit of updating the way BRICS works because now we have six new members and a number of partner members, so the idea that we could change a little bit, adjust a little bit the working methods,' he said.
He further mentioned that they have two members- Russia and Iran which are involved in conflicts and BRICS is trying to find a solution to these wars.
'We have two members involved in conflicts- Russia and Iran. Well, I think it's always the traditional focus of BRICS trying to find a peaceful solution to these wars, to these disputes because BRICS always stood for diplomacy, for peace,' he said.
Nobrega said that the developments between Iran and Israel is very dynamic and its solution should be found through diplomatic means.
'Of course the developments on the ground in Iran in this war between Israel and Iran are very quick, very dynamic, so we don't know where we are going to be in about three weeks, but BRICS has a tradition of discussing openly this very, very complex situations and always trying to have one voice in favour of a peaceful settlement of disputes because there is no way out. We have to find through diplomatic means,' he said.
He further said that Brazil and India's coordination is very natural in multilateral fora.
'Brazil and India have traditionally coordinated in multilateral fora and also in BRICS. I have worked for BRICS for some years and I coordinated on a daily basis with my Indian colleagues because we have common ideas, common values, common interests, so the coordination is very natural, I would say,' he said.
The 2025 BRICS summit will be the 17th annual BRICS summit, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 6-7. (ANI)
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