BRICS gains oil security in push to dedollarisation
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, August 24: While more 31 countries have evinced interests to join BRICS, the coveted emerging economy group has decided to admit six of them from early next year. BRICS will now boast of six of the top nine oil producing countries as members.
South African President Cyril Ramaposa has said that the BRICS will not be limited to one expansion phase, as he is seen to be fanning the Chinese push to make the group a counterweight to G7, the group of seven most industrialised nations. Ramaposa announced induction of Argentina, Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia as members of BRICS from 2024.
While Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Iran, and Ethiopia are seen to be key allies of China, India has strong ties with the UAE and Egypt. On the face of the decision to include six members in one go, China appears to have carried its weight in the decision making because of the leeway Beijing enjoys with South Africa, Brazil and Russia.
“The BRICS leaders instructed the Ministries of Finance and the Central Bank of their countries to consider the possibility of launching payment instruments and platforms based on national currencies,” said Ramaposa. The move gives push to dedollarisation, which is actively being pushed by Russia and China as the fallout of the Ukraine War.
India is also seeking trade in local currencies, while pushing for acceptance of the UPI-based payment system. India has strategies relations with the UAE and Egypt, while also holding cordial ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran. Strategic affairs commentators have underlined that India is opposed to a hurried expansion of BRICS, which will dilute its significance, even while China clearly wants as many members as possible to gain credence to its stated heft in the Global South.
Incidentally, BRICS has met in virtual mode for past two summits, and the grouping has so far not yielded any tangible gains for the member countries. The last two BRICS Summit, hosted by China and South Africa, ended up providing the platform for the ant-west rhetoric.
“The BRICS countries are concerned about the current conflicts in the world and are in favor of a peaceful solution through dialogue,” added Ramaposa. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart once more used the BRICS platform to peddle anti-US rhetoric, while seeking member countries to back their worldviews.
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