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The BRICS group of emerging-market nations will discuss deepening the use of local currencies in trade between member states at a summit in South Africa next week, and is not calling for replacing the US dollar in global trade, the nation’s ambassador to the bloc said.
The talks will focus on issues including the establishment of a common payments system, while a technical committee is likely to be formed to start considering a potential joint currency, Anil Sooklal said in an interview at Bloomberg.
There are no plans to discuss replacing the US dollar as the world’s de facto global currency, he said at a conference at the same venue.
“Trading in local currencies is firmly on the agenda,” Sooklal said. “There is no agenda item of de-dollarization on the BRICS agenda.”
The BRICS members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are striving to conduct more trade between themselves in their own currencies as part of an effort to gain more global influence and counterbalance the dominance of the US. The New Development Bank, a lender created by BRICS, has targeted a third of its lending being in domestic currencies by 2026.
The bank’s chief financial officer, Leslie Maasdorp, said last month that BRICS developing a common currency to challenge the dollar is a medium- to long-term ambition.
The summit of BRICS leaders is scheduled to take place from Aug. 22-24 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Forty heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance, and that number could rise to about 50, according to Sooklal.