With the upcoming leaders’ summit slated for August 22 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Leaders of the BRICS countries are working on plans to discuss the feasibility of introducing a common currency to challenge the US Dollar’s dominance.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor made comments in an interview with Bloomberg last week. While noting that she does not fancy “divulging too early the discussions of BRICS leaders,” on BRICS currency. She said:
“It’s a matter we must discuss and discuss properly.”

“I don’t think we should always assume the idea will work because economics is very difficult and you have to have regard to all countries, especially in a situation of low growth when you are emerging from crises,” she continued.

The BRICS nations, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have been increasing their efforts towards de-dollarization, and a common currency for the BRICS is expected to aid the member countries move away and disassociate themselves from the reliance on the USD.

Recently, a Russian official said that according to his expectations, an agreement will be made on a BRICS currency this year. As it stands, a total of Nineteen countries have applied to either join the BRICS economic bloc or to express their interest in joining, including Iran as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The South African minister reiterated that the BRICS nations and the majority of other countries are saying:
“Why can’t we trade in our currencies? Why are we committed to trading through the dollar?”
However, she cautioned: “South Africa has an internationally traded currency. However, we hold a lot of debt in dollars so you know we have to approach this discussion responsibly.”
A lot of people expect a common BRICS currency to trim out the U.S. dollar’s dominance. A former economist of the White House was quoted saying if the BRICS nations used only their common currency for international trade, “they would remove an impediment that now thwarts their efforts to escape dollar hegemony.” However, the Bank of America, Dave Ramsey, and some others believe that a BRICS currency will pose little to no threat the to USD.
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