BRICS do not want to be dependent on the dollar

The BRICS group of developing countries held a summit in South Africa this week to discuss deepening the use of local currencies in trade between its members. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said at the summit: “No BRICS member wants to change their currencies; what we want is to create a currency that allows us to do business without being dependent on the US dollar.” Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 15th summit of the bloc, which is comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Lula said: “There has never been a forum in the world that has decided that the dollar will be the reference currency for business,” but stressed that they would not rush to a new exchange rate. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Argentina are set to join the bloc on January 1. However, Argentina’s two leading presidential candidates have spoken out against BRICS membership.