BRICS summit in Rio: Bloc may push trade in local currencies, countries differ on common currency; India says discussions still at 'early stage'
Ahead of the July 6–7 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, senior diplomats from leading member nations said the grouping is likely to intensify efforts toward settling trade in national currencies, even as they ruled out any imminent move toward a unified BRICS currency.
At a conference 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,' while reaffirming Moscow's support 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,' said Alipov, rejecting suggestions that the group was being shaped as an anti-West coalition, reported PTI.
He noted that trade in national currencies was already underway between BRICS members.
India's BRICS Sherpa and Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Dammu Ravi, said discussions around a BRICS common currency 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 said.
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Brazilian Ambassador Kenneth da Nobrega echoed the sentiment, adding that while deeper integration like a common currency requires years of policy alignment, local currency trade was already showing results. 'It's a long way. But trading in local currencies? That's already working,' Nobrega said.
The summit comes amid geopolitical unease following warnings by President Donald Trump against any formal move by BRICS nations to undermine the US dollar's dominance in global trade.
The Trump administration's tariffs have already drawn concern among developing economies.
The summit is set to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and leaders of newly inducted members such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, and Indonesia.
Ambassador Ina Krisnamurthi of Indonesia called for systemic reform, saying, 'Our international order, the rules-based system, is crashing into the limits of its founding vision.'
She said BRICS must evolve from 'just dialogue to delivery,' focusing on climate finance, humanitarian relief, and data equity.
'Right now, the Global South represents 85 per cent of the world's population and 39 per cent of global GDP,' Krisnamurthi noted. 'Yet multilateral institutions do not reflect this reality.'
Citing a surge in the middle class across India, China and ASEAN, she said: '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 said Cairo had always seen itself as a natural part of the bloc. 'We are keen that the group should focus on areas of cooperation that enjoy consensus, rather than divisive issues,' he said, stressing a development-first agenda for Africa and the Middle East.
Touching on global flashpoints like Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Sudan, Galal called for reforming global institutions to better reflect '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 new vision for BRICS: 'collaboration, complementarity, consensus and cohesion.'
The panel concluded with a Q&A session that focused on the institutional future of BRICS, prospects of a unified currency, and the bloc's ambitions under the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework.
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