BRICS has started actively working on the development of a payment platform for trading in national currencies, stated Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday. The payment platform falls under the decisions of BRICS’s Johannesburg summit in 2023, which aims to improve the international financial system and trade in the bloc. BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has made a historic expansion recently with the joining of new member states such as the UAE, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia.
“Active work is underway to implement the decisions of last year’s Johannesburg summit in terms of improving the international monetary and financial system and developing a platform for settlements in national currencies for mutual trade,” stated Lavrov during his participation in the BRICS meeting today. “In accordance with the instructions of the leaders at the Johannesburg summit, we are paying special attention to harmonizing the modalities for establishing a category of partner states of the association,” he added.
The June 10-11 meeting aims to discuss international relations, improvement of the global governance system with emphasis on strengthening the role of developing countries, conflict resolution, and interaction in leading multilateral platforms.
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Lavrov also added that Russia is working on key initiatives in the transportation sector. Moreover, the country is working on establishing a contact group on climate and sustainable development, a working group on nuclear medicine, and a medical association, among others.
The BRICS foreign ministers meeting is currently taking place in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod from June 1o until June 11. The meeting expects the attendance of around 22 to 25 nations this year including member states and non-member states.
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