India slams brakes on talk of BRICS common currency
The BRICS deliberations have focused on boosting trade in national currencies instead of on developing a common currency.
PremiumNew Delhi: Foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra downplayed the possibility of BRICS countries developing a common currency. In a special briefing with the media, Kwatra stated that the BRICS deliberations have focused on boosting trade in national currencies instead of on developing a common currency.
“The substantive part of trade and economic exchanges and discussions that have been a part of BRICS discussions, have so far, in a major way, focused on how to increase trade in respective national currencies which… is considerably different from a common currency concept," said Kwatra.
“You would know that common currency discussions have several prerequisites before you can even talk about a common currency framework. The discussion framework in BRICS and the substance of that discussion framework in BRICS have focused principally on trade within national currencies," he added.
Prominent figures like Brazil's President Lula da Silva and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have voiced support for the idea of a common currency among BRICS nations. Some have spoken of the concept as a potential challenger to the US dollar.
“I am in favor of creating, within the BRICS, a trading currency between our countries, just like the Europeans created the euro," President Lula had said during a speech in April.
"Serious, self-respecting countries are well aware of what is at stake, see the incompetence of the 'masters' of the current international monetary and financial system, and want to create their own mechanisms to ensure sustainable development, which will be protected from outside dictates," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted as saying by numerous news outlets in January this year. He went on to talk about the creation of a currency within the framework of BRICS.
However, India has been cautious in public on this matter. External affairs minister S Jaishankar stated that there was no discussion of a BRICS common currency. Kwatra’s comments seem to indicate that the groupings focus will remain on deepening trade in national currencies.
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