The five-nation bloc of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) is a force that could promote global economic growth.
The BRICS group of five countries represents more than 40% of the world’s population. According to IMF estimates, member states are responsible for more than half of the global economic growth of the last 10 years.
Russian trade with fellow BRICS countries has grown significantly in the last year, and the country wants to keep the momentum going, said President Vladimir Putin in his opening address at the 2018 BRICS Summit in South Africa.
The BRICS countries created the New Development Bank in July 2014. The goals of the bank, headquartered in Shanghai, are to fund infrastructure projects in emerging economies for sustainable development.
The bank’s capital is up to $100 billion and it says that all members of the United Nations could join it. However, the BRICS nations can never have less than 55% of the voting power.
The digital revolution is the next threshold for BRICS countries, according to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa’s comments were echoed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said technological innovations could help to enhance better service delivery and productivity levels.
Major banks from BRICS countries have agreed to work together to study how innovative technology such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain could be applied in the infrastructure finance sector.
Last year, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) proposed to create a joint digital currency for BRICS countries and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). It could replace the US dollar and other currencies used in settlements among the member states.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2019.
