posted April 06, 2023 05:26 PM            

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries are reportedly exploring the creation of a common currency for trade amongst themselves. A new financial arrangement, seen with a potential to translate into a common BRICS currency, could be announced as soon as in August 2023 at the forthcoming BRICS summit in South Africa.

While speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum event in New Delhi, India, last week, Alexander Babakov, the deputy chairman of Russian parliament the State Duma, said that the plan is to initially transition to using domestic currencies in transactions. Following this, the introduction and circulation of a digital or an alternative form of currency could be explored. The potential introduction of a common BRICS currency is significant given the bilateral differences between India and China due to ongoing military standoff along the Line of Actual Control between the two Asian giants.