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Hans India
21 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
BRICS summit to focus on local currency trade
Weeks before top BRICS leaders converge in Rio de Janeiro for summit talks, envoys of leading member nations of the grouping hinted that it could focus on greater use of national currencies for trade in the face of uncertainties over Trump administration's aggressive policy on tariff. Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov reaffirmed Moscow's strong support for trade in local currency among BRICS member nations and described the grouping as 'a serious platform for discussing joint soluti'ons to big challenges'. The summit is unlikely to make any significant progress on the proposed BRICS currency as it will need significant structural changes and reforms. In the last few months, President Donald Trump has cautioned BRICS member nations against rolling out a BRICS currency to replace the US dollar. 'BRICS is not a counter-bloc. It is a centre of gravity for countries seeking mutual respect and non-interference,' Alipov said at a conference titled 'BRICS in Rio: Shaping an Inclusive and Sustainable World Order' that was co-organised by the Embassy of Brazil in India and Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a leading think tank focused on global affairs. The 17th BRICS ((Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro on July 6 and 7. Brazil is hosting the summit in its capacity as the chair of the influential bloc. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and several other leaders of the member nations of the grouping are expected to attend the summit. Enhancing the use of national currencies in settling intra-BRICS trade figured prominently in discussions, with all panellists backing the proposal, which is already being implemented by BRICS countries. However, the panellists found the idea of a BRICS common currency impractical. Besides Alipov, India's BRICS sherpa and Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Dammu Ravi, Brazil's Ambassador to India Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, Indonesia Ambassador Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi and Egypt's envoy Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal attended the conference. In his remarks, Ravi clarified that discussions around a BRICS common currency are still 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. Nobrega and Ravi both reiterated that a common currency would require far deeper policy harmonisation -- something the EU struggled with despite far more economic alignment.
Economic Times
a day ago
- Business
- Economic Times
BRICS summit in Rio will focus on solutions for Global South
From left to right: Manish Chand, Kenneth Félix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Dammu Ravi, Denis Alipov, Ms Jyoti Vij, Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal and Ina. H. Krisnamurthi. Ahead of the 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, eminent diplomats and experts voiced optimism about a bigger role for BRICS in shaping an inclusive world order, and batted for streamlining the interests and aspirations of the Global South in BRIC+ agenda. Looking ahead, India, which will take over the BRICS gavel from Brazil, stressed on prioritising 'scalable, cooperative projects in areas of financial inclusion, bridging digital divide and clean energy. 'BRICS has to get its act together and find solutions for the Global South. This requires commitment, a lot of hard work, and to be able to look deep into those issues, into the future,' said Dammu Ravi, India's BRICS sherpa and Secretary (Economic Relations) in India's Ministry of External Affairs. Ravi underlined India's growing stakes in shaping BRICS as both a development platform and a geopolitical force. 'We are not just participants — we are contributors to the very direction BRICS takes,' he noted. He emphasized that India's successful development models — particularly in poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, and digital public infrastructure — should be viewed as templates for wider application across the Global South. Ravi was speaking at a conference titled 'BRICS in Rio: Shaping an Inclusive and Sustainable World Order,' at India International Centre in New Delhi on June 20. The conference was co-organised by the Embassy of Brazil in India and Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a leading think tank focused on global affairs. Besides Ravi, Brazil's Ambassador to India Kenneth Félix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Russia's Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, Indonesia Ambassador Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi, Egypt's Ambassador Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal and FICCI Director General Ms Jyoti Vij also spoke at the conference. The conference, moderated by Manish Chand, CEO, CGII, focused on the role of BRICS in promoting sustainable solutions to challenges faced by the Global South in the context of the BRICS summit in Rio. 'In this conflicted world of egos and competing interests, we need robust multilateralism and consensus-building. And this is where expanding multilateral groupings like BRICS can play a pivotal role in infusing hope in despairing times and in offering viable solutions to cross-cutting challenges,' said Chand. 'The Rio summit will mark the ongoing ascendance of the Global South in the international arena. We hope that the upcoming Summit in Rio de Janeiro will be an opportunity to strengthen BRICS' role as a platform to voice the concerns and interests of the Global South,' he said. 'The expanded BRICS holds out the promise of reform of international institutions with inclusiveness, with the Global South exercising effective influence on its reconfiguration,' said Brazil's envoy Nobrega. 'Despite the mistaken impressions of some, BRICS is not working against anyone, but exclusively in favour of the sustainable development of its members, as well as for the reform of global governance institutions.'BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia with Indonesia joining in 2025. Alluding to a complex geopolitical environment, marked by increased polarization and distrust, the envoy underlined that the Brazilian presidency is seeking to update the work dynamics of the grouping while staying true to BRICS acquis and its gold standard: 'pragmatic, patient and inclusive consensus building.'The motto of Brazilian chairship is 'Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.' The summit will culminate in two high-level declarations on financing the climate change regime and the governance of artificial intelligence. Enhancing the use of national currencies in settling intra-BRICS trade figured prominently in discussions, with all panellists backing the proposal, which is already being implemented by BRICS countries. However, panelists found the idea of a BRICS common currency impractical. Mr Dammu Ravi clarified that discussions around a BRICS common currency are still at a very early stage. 'Today, for now, we are only looking at trade settlement in national currencies. Harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies is very, very difficult to achieve, he said. Expressing Russia's support for Brazil's BRICS presidency and its emphasis on enhancing cooperation among Global South nations, the Russian envoy commended efforts to diversify financial mechanisms, and backed expansion of the use of national currencies in intra-BRICS trade. FICCI Secretary General Jyoti Vij outlined the role of BRICS Business Council in enhancing economic linkages among BRICS countries and underlined that the use of national currencies will greatly help businesses as it will help cut transaction costs. Accelerating reform of global governance institutions will figure prominently on the agenda of the BRICS summit in Rio. In this context,Indonesia's Ambassador Krisnamurthi called for better representation of the Global South in multilateral institutions. 'Right now, the Global South represents 85% of the world's population and 39% of global GDP. Yet multilateral institutions do not reflect this reality.'Outlining Cairo's vision for the upcoming Rio summit, the Egyptian ambassador emphasized the need to 'reform and strengthen the multilateral system in a way that reflects the evolving dynamics and rising role of developing countries.' 'We are keen that the group should focus on areas of cooperation that enjoy consensus, rather than divisive issues,' said the Egyptian Russian envoy underlined BRICS' unity on terrorism. 'We issued a strong condemnation. That shows BRICS can speak with one voice on core issues,' he said while alluding to the grouping's response to terrorism, citing the April 22 Pahalgam attack in India. The grouping, he added, is evolving into a 'more comprehensive and more representative' platform with its latest round of expansion.'
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Brics envoys push for anti-terror unity, trade in local currencies
Ahead of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro next month, envoys of leading member nations of the grouping underlined the need for greater focus to combat terrorism and called for mainstreaming the interests and aspirations of the Global South. With US President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs encouraging a trend towards de-dollarisation, the envoys also backed the expansion of the use of national currencies for intra-BRICS trade and pitched for deeper cooperation on economic issues. India, on its part, stressed on the pivotal importance of the grouping in promoting scalable solutions for the Global South or developing nations in areas of financial inclusion and advocated greater use of national currency in international trade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the Brazilian city to attend the crucial BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit. "BRICS has to get its act together and find solutions for the Global South. This requires commitment, a lot of hard work, and to be able to look deep into those issues, into the future," said Dammu Ravi, India's BRICS sherpa and Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Ravi highlighted India's growing stakes in shaping BRICS as both a development platform and a geopolitical force. "We are not just participants -- we are contributors to the very direction BRICS takes," he noted. The senior diplomat emphasised that India's successful development models -- particularly in poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, and digital public infrastructure -- should be viewed as templates for wider application across the Global South. Ravi was speaking at a conference titled "BRICS in Rio: Shaping an Inclusive and Sustainable World Order," on Friday evening. The conference was co-organised by the Embassy of Brazil in India and Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a leading think tank focused on global affairs. Besides Ravi, Brazil's Ambassador to India Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, Russia's Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, Indonesia Ambassador Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi and Egypt's envoy Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal. The envoys spoke in one voice on the need to enhance greater cooperation among the BRICS nations to combat terrorism. "We issued a strong condemnation. That shows BRICS can speak with one voice on core issues," he said while alluding to the grouping's response to terrorism, citing the April 22 Pahalgam attack in India. The grouping, he added, is evolving into a "more comprehensive and more representative" platform with its latest round of expansion. BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025. The conference, moderated by Manish Chand, CEO of CGII, focused on the role of BRICS in promoting sustainable solutions to challenges faced by the Global South in the context of the BRICS summit in Rio. "The Rio summit will mark the ongoing ascendance of the Global South in the international arena. We hope that the upcoming Summit will be an opportunity to strengthen BRICS' role as a platform to voice the concerns and interests of the Global South," said Chand. Extending Russia's support for Brazil's BRICS presidency and its emphasis on enhancing cooperation among Global South nations, the Russian envoy commended efforts to diversify financial mechanisms and backed expansion of the use of national currencies in intra-BRICS trade. Alluding to a complex geopolitical environment, marked by increased polarisation and distrust, Brazil's envoy Nobrega underlined that the Brazilian presidency is seeking to update the work dynamics of the grouping while staying true to BRICS acquis and its gold standard: "pragmatic, patient and inclusive consensus building". "The expanded BRICS holds out the promise of reform of international institutions with inclusiveness, with the Global South exercising effective influence on its reconfiguration," Nobrega said. "Despite the mistaken impressions of some, BRICS is not working against anyone, but exclusively in favour of the sustainable development of its members, as well as for the reform of global governance institutions." The motto of the Brazilian chairship is "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance." The summit will culminate in two high-level declarations on financing the climate change regime and the governance of artificial intelligence. Enhancing the use of national currencies in settling intra-BRICS trade figured prominently in discussions, with all panelists backing the proposal, which is already being implemented by BRICS countries. However, the panelists found the idea of a BRICS common currency impractical. Ravi clarified that discussions around a BRICS common currency are still 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. Accelerating reform of global governance institutions is also expected to figure prominently on the agenda of the BRICS summit in Rio. In this context, Indonesia's Ambassador Krisnamurthi called for better representation of the Global South in multilateral institutions. "Right now, the Global South represents 85 per cent of the world's population and 39 per cent of global GDP. Yet multilateral institutions do not reflect this reality," she said. Outlining Cairo's vision for the upcoming Rio summit, the Egyptian ambassador emphasised the need to "reform and strengthen the multilateral system in a way that reflects the evolving dynamics and the rising role of developing countries." "We are keen that the group should focus on areas of cooperation that enjoy consensus, rather than divisive issues," said the Egyptian envoy. FICCI Secretary General Jyoti Vij outlined the role of the BRICS Business Council in enhancing economic linkages among BRICS countries and underlined that the use of national currencies will greatly help businesses as it will help cut transaction costs. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
BRICS summit in Rio will focus on solutions for Global South
Ahead of the 17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, eminent diplomats and experts voiced optimism about a bigger role for BRICS in shaping an inclusive world order, and batted for streamlining the interests and aspirations of the Global South in BRIC+ agenda. Looking ahead, India, which will take over the BRICS gavel from Brazil, stressed on prioritising 'scalable, cooperative projects in areas of financial inclusion, bridging digital divide and clean energy. 'BRICS has to get its act together and find solutions for the Global South. This requires commitment, a lot of hard work, and to be able to look deep into those issues, into the future,' said Dammu Ravi, India's BRICS sherpa and Secretary (Economic Relations) in India's Ministry of External Affairs. Ravi underlined India's growing stakes in shaping BRICS as both a development platform and a geopolitical force. 'We are not just participants — we are contributors to the very direction BRICS takes,' he noted. He emphasized that India's successful development models — particularly in poverty alleviation, financial inclusion, and digital public infrastructure — should be viewed as templates for wider application across the Global South. Ravi was speaking at a conference titled 'BRICS in Rio: Shaping an Inclusive and Sustainable World Order,' at India International Centre in New Delhi on June 20. The conference was co-organised by the Embassy of Brazil in India and Centre for Global India Insights (CGII), a leading think tank focused on global affairs. Besides Ravi, Brazil's Ambassador to India Kenneth Félix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Russia's Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, Indonesia Ambassador Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi , Egypt's Ambassador Kamel Zayed Kamel Galal and FICCI Director General Ms Jyoti Vij also spoke at the conference. The conference, moderated by Manish Chand, CEO, CGII, focused on the role of BRICS in promoting sustainable solutions to challenges faced by the Global South in the context of the BRICS summit in Rio. 'In this conflicted world of egos and competing interests, we need robust multilateralism and consensus-building. And this is where expanding multilateral groupings like BRICS can play a pivotal role in infusing hope in despairing times and in offering viable solutions to cross-cutting challenges,' said Chand. Live Events 'The Rio summit will mark the ongoing ascendance of the Global South in the international arena. We hope that the upcoming Summit in Rio de Janeiro will be an opportunity to strengthen BRICS' role as a platform to voice the concerns and interests of the Global South,' he said. 'The expanded BRICS holds out the promise of reform of international institutions with inclusiveness, with the Global South exercising effective influence on its reconfiguration,' said Brazil's envoy Nobrega. 'Despite the mistaken impressions of some, BRICS is not working against anyone, but exclusively in favour of the sustainable development of its members, as well as for the reform of global governance institutions.' BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia with Indonesia joining in 2025. Alluding to a complex geopolitical environment, marked by increased polarization and distrust, the envoy underlined that the Brazilian presidency is seeking to update the work dynamics of the grouping while staying true to BRICS acquis and its gold standard: 'pragmatic, patient and inclusive consensus building.' The motto of Brazilian chairship is 'Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.' The summit will culminate in two high-level declarations on financing the climate change regime and the governance of artificial intelligence. Use of national currency Enhancing the use of national currencies in settling intra-BRICS trade figured prominently in discussions, with all panellists backing the proposal, which is already being implemented by BRICS countries. However, panelists found the idea of a BRICS common currency impractical. Mr Dammu Ravi clarified that discussions around a BRICS common currency are still at a very early stage. 'Today, for now, we are only looking at trade settlement in national currencies. Harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies is very, very difficult to achieve, he said. Expressing Russia's support for Brazil's BRICS presidency and its emphasis on enhancing cooperation among Global South nations, the Russian envoy commended efforts to diversify financial mechanisms, and backed expansion of the use of national currencies in intra-BRICS trade. FICCI Secretary General Jyoti Vij outlined the role of BRICS Business Council in enhancing economic linkages among BRICS countries and underlined that the use of national currencies will greatly help businesses as it will help cut transaction costs. Reforming global governance. Accelerating reform of global governance institutions will figure prominently on the agenda of the BRICS summit in Rio. In this context,Indonesia's Ambassador Krisnamurthi called for better representation of the Global South in multilateral institutions. 'Right now, the Global South represents 85% of the world's population and 39% of global GDP. Yet multilateral institutions do not reflect this reality.' Outlining Cairo's vision for the upcoming Rio summit, the Egyptian ambassador emphasized the need to 'reform and strengthen the multilateral system in a way that reflects the evolving dynamics and rising role of developing countries.' 'We are keen that the group should focus on areas of cooperation that enjoy consensus, rather than divisive issues,' said the Egyptian envoy. The Russian envoy underlined BRICS' unity on terrorism. 'We issued a strong condemnation. That shows BRICS can speak with one voice on core issues,' he said while alluding to the grouping's response to terrorism, citing the April 22 Pahalgam attack in India. The grouping, he added, is evolving into a 'more comprehensive and more representative' platform with its latest round of expansion.'
