The BRICS countries will focus on ways to reduce dependency on the US dollar as the leaders from five countries convene in Johannesburg on 22-24 August, South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said.
Addressing a meeting of business delegates from BRICS nations on Monday, Mashatile said that the BRICS states were at the “forefront of the global discourse to reduce dependence on US dollar”.
He said that the developing nations didn’t want to “compete with the west” but wanted their “own space in global business”.
A United Kingdom (UK)-based think tank estimated in April that BRICS states have already overtaken the G7 club of rich democracies in terms of combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
Estimates suggest that BRICS nations, which comprise the fastest growing major economies such as India and China, will comprise nearly half of the global GDP by 2040.
In the lead-up to BRICS Summit, South African finance minister Enoch Godongwana told Reuters that increasing the use of national currencies in New Development Bank’s (NDB) lending would be on the agenda of the leaders’ meeting.
NDB President Dilma Rousseff will be in attendance at the BRICS Summit, the South African presidency has said.