Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday that the BRICS economies led by China and Russia should create their own international payments system because the existing Western system is too politicized and too vulnerable to pressure from the United States. He said he is working on building one.
Siluanov was referring to the harsh sanctions imposed on Russia after its brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since these sanctions were imposed, Russia has I'm trying It aims to create an alternative to SWIFT, the international financial tracking system established by Western countries.
“Our task is to build our own independent system, primarily taking into account Western political decisions,” Siluanov said. said on Thursday.
“BRICS is above politics and above any pressure or restriction. Its purpose is to stimulate economic growth and increase the income of its people,” he asserted.
BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, and China to counter Western organizations such as the Group of Seven (G7). A fifth member, South Africa ('S' in BRICS), later joined.
brick countries added Five new countries will join in January 2024, including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Ethiopia. At the time, Argentina was also scheduled to participate, but after the election of liberal president Javier Millay, it left the largely left-wing, anti-American coalition. 13 more countries approaching are cooperating It is affiliated with BRICS and may apply for membership in the future.
BRICS has long sought ways to facilitate trade among its members without using the Western-dominated global financial system or the US dollar. Despite Siluanov's ridiculous claim that BRICS is “above politics,” the big reason for this commotion to devise an alternative to SWIFT is entirely political. Many BRICS countries have terrible human rights records and resent the capabilities of the West. The world will impose sanctions on them.
BRICS countries also collectively exempted Even though the core five countries of this bloc emit more greenhouse gases than the rest of the world combined, they don't have to make a huge sacrifice for climate change.
The climate movement has so far been largely content to ignore non-Western countries in exchange for paying lip service to the movement, but such non-intervention may change, with China, Russia, India and other heavily polluting countries would rather not do that. That would make them more susceptible to climate sanctions.
Siluanov envisioned BRICS building a system in which member countries' national currencies and digital currencies would constitute an alternative to SWIFT. He said developing countries in the “Global South” have expressed interest in joining the BRICS system once it takes shape.
Siluanov said BRICS should also develop alternatives to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
“The IMF and the World Bank are not playing their role. They are not working in the interest of the BRICS countries. Within the framework of the BRICS, similar to the Bretton Woods system, but within our community, “New conditions and even new institutions need to be created,” he said.
Bretton Woods was named after the town in New Hampshire where the signing took place and was established in 1944. agreement Among the founding nations of the United Nations, which led to the creation of the IMF and World Bank after World War II, in hopes of stabilizing the world economy. Russia frequently complains that it fears its trading partners will use the Bretton Woods system to do business with Russia. This is because doing so could trigger secondary sanctions from the United States and Europe.
The only real progress the BRICS have made towards building an alternative financial system is that new development bank (NDB) was initially called the BRICS Development Bank when it was established in 2015.
The NDB, like the IMF and World Bank, is supposed to lend money to BRICS countries and their companies for “sustainable” development projects. However, NDB is just fraction Within the size of these venerable international financial institutions, their funds are strained by the expansion of BRICS membership, and only about a quarter of their loans are made in local currencies rather than US dollars, making them less environmentally friendly. Criticism has been mounting for providing funds that are An insensitive project.
