BRICS common payment unit to reduce vulnerability

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made the remarks at a plenary session of the 15th BRICS summit on Wednesday.

"The BRICS can offer via the New Development Bank its own alternatives of appropriate financing, which would meet needs of the Global South," the Brazilian President said.

"Creation of a common payment unit for trading transactions and investments among BRICS countries will expand the list of payment options available for us and reduce our vulnerability," he noted, TASS reported.

BRICS member-states are discussing the possibility of creating a common payment unit that will be an alternative to the dollar, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the CGTN television channel on Tuesday.

BRICS is comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group’s members host around half of the world’s population besides representing one-fifth of the global economy.

The BRICS summit is being held in Johannesburg on August 22-24. South Africa is presiding over the BRICS group this year. The country’s BRICS Sherpa Anil Suklal said earlier that about 30 countries are now interested in joining BRICS.

The Indian newspaper Business Standard quoted its sources as saying that five countries could be admitted to BRICS at the summit in Johannesburg on August 22-24: Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi is also scheduled to visit Johannesburg on Wednesday to attend the 2023 BRICS summit.

Iran is among more than a dozen countries that seek membership in the bloc and has submitted a formal application to join the body. The Islamic Republic has described its objectives as in alignment with those of the BRICS countries.

MP/PR