B.R.I.C.S. Discussion

@Garry, kvs, mir:

https://www.rt.com/africa/604351-brics-promotes-practices-female-leadership/

BRICS a positive force for women – Ethiopian official

Asalifew Kabeto has praised the group for boosting intercontinental cooperation

BRICS is a crucial platform for facilitating international cooperation on women’s leadership and social development, Asalifew Kabeto, an official from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, has told RT. 

“BRICS is an alternative platform to work together with different countries,” the official stated. “We have just shared different experiences from different countries on women, leadership, [and] women’s social development.”

The point is that women should be getting jobs because they are the best candidate for the job... not because they happen to be a woman and we don't have enough women working for us so we are going to hire her even if she can't do the job well.

It is perfectly normal for a woman in the Soviet Union to be a doctor. Women doctors in the west tend to be common in some areas, but women are still a minority.

Yet in roles like Nurses they tend to dominate...

That is western cultural thing, the role of the mother and wife is not really respected enough for someone to say that is what they do. To feel equal western women want to work full time and be mother.

Part of BRICS is about not telling members what they can or can't do... no pushing feminism, no pushing this language or religion or system of government... everyone is an independent country and BRICS is cooperation and trade, but not telling others what to do.

Will a BRICS Bretton Woods Take Place in Kazan?, by Pepe Escobar for Sputnikglobe.com. 09.23.2024.

With less than a month before the crucial BRICS annual summit in Kazan under the Russian presidency, serious informed discussions are raging in Moscow and other Eurasian capitals on what should be at the table in the de-dollarization and alternative payment system front.

Earlier this month Andrey Mikhailishin, head of the task force on financial services of the BRICS Business Council, detailed the list of top projects under consideration. They include:

• A common unit of account - as in The Unit, whose contours were first revealed exclusively by Sputnik.

• A platform for multilateral settlements and payments in BRICS digital currencies, connecting the financial markets of BRICS members: that’s BRICS Bridge, which bears similarities with the Bank of International Settlements-linked MBridge,  already in effect. That will complement intrabank systems already in action, as in Russia’s SPFS and Iran’s CPAM settling financial transactions – and 60% of their trade - in their own currencies.

• A blockchain-based payment system that entirely bypasses the US dollar: BRICS Pay. Arguably 159 participants may be ready to adopt this sanction-evading, similar-to-SWIFT mechanism right away.

• A settlement depository (Clear).

• An insurance system.

• And crucially a BRICS rating agency, independent from the Western giants.

What’s at stake is the extremely complex design of a brand-new financial system – decentralized and using digital technology. BRICS Clear, for instance, will be using blockchain to record securities and exchange them.

As for The Unit, the value of the common unit of account is pegged by 40% to gold and by 60% to a basket of BRICS member’s national currencies. The BRICS Business Council considers The Unit a “convenient and universal” instrument, since a unit can be converted into any national currency.

That would definitely solve the nagging problem of exchange rate volatility when cash balances accumulate from settlements in national currencies; for example, a mountain of Indian rupees used to pay for Russian energy.

Who Do I Call to Talk to BRICS?

I asked a very direct question to two Russian analysts, one of them a finance tech executive with vast experience across Europe, and the other the head of an investment fund with global reach. Considering the sensitivity of their posts, they prefer to remain anonymous.

The question: Is BRICS ready to become an actor in Kazan next month, and what should be on the table in terms of the strategy to establish an alternative payment system?

The Answers. Analyst 1:

“Time has come for BRICS to become a real actor. The world demands it. The leaders of BRICS countries clearly understand it. They have the moral power and the political will to set up an organization to provide a number for BRICS to be called in – that’s the best question for the upcoming summit.”
The analyst is referring to what could be dubbed “the Kissinger moment”, when Dr. K famously quipped, in the Cold War era, “when I want to talk to Europe, who do I call?”

Now to Analyst 2:

“For a BRICS agreement amongst countries to mean something, countries need to agree on a framework of action and that means accepting some responsibilities in exchange for certain rights. And it sounds there’s no better way to achieve that than to arrive at mutually agreed obligations on settlement of financial transactions.”

One of the analysts added a very important, specific point: “By now the situation is pretty clear, to properly address the issue of cross-border payments. The best mechanism should be based on the New Development Bank (NDB), given that Russia has a mandate to propose the new president of that organization. Whoever the candidate will be, cross-border payments should be at the top of his agenda.”

The NDB is the BRICS bank, based in Shanghai. The analyst hopes this decision on the future of the NDB will be made before the BRICS summit: "Given the diplomatic and political considerations, the candidate should be made known, formally or informally to the member countries.”

As it stands, the talk of the town in Moscow informed circles is that Alexey Mohzin, the IMF’s executive director for Russia, has a 60% chance to be appointed to the NDB. In parallel, Ksenia Yudaeva, a former G20 sherpa and former deputy of Russia Central Bank’s Elvira Nabiullina, may become the new representative with the IMF.

So what may be in the cards is a NDB/IMF reshuffle on the Russian front. The focus should be on the potential for future productive change – rather than missed opportunities; the NDB’s policies so far have not been exactly revolutionary - considering that the bank’s statutes are linked to the US dollar.
The new deal could place the NDB as leverage for a reform of the IMF, rather than an alternative to it.

The “Kissinger moment” does play a key role in this equation. It will highlight that until the moment turns into reality, the NDB should be the sole actor for effective changes in crucial matters like the stability of the financial infrastructure.

And from that perspective, as one of the analysts note, “The UNIT and all other similar projects may be presented as complementary risk management tools hedging against reckless monetary policies and Global Financial Crisis-2 risks.”

Time though is running out – fast. President Putin recently met with the Russian Union of Industrialists. They have sent a letter to the administration and the Russian Central Bank outlining what they consider the most promising ideas.

The Unit is one of them. Prime Minister Mishustin’s government is now on the final stages of deciding which projects to support: for the BRICS summit in Kazan, and one week before, for the annual summit of the BRICS Business Council in Moscow.

A BRICS Bretton Woods?

I posed the same BRICS question to the Russian analysts also to indispensable Prof. Michael Hudson – who actually provided a concise in-depth critique of what may be on the table, while offering a different solution.

For Prof. Hudson, “a new institution has to be created - a Central Bank empowered to issue credit to finance the trade and payments deficits of some countries, with an artificial bancor-type SDR [Special Drawing Rights].”

Prof. Hudson argues “this would be different (his italics) from a clearing house system for existing banks. It would be a BRICS' IMF. Its bancors credit or balance sheet would only be for settlements among governments, not a generally traded currency. Indeed, making the bancor widely traded as a speculative vehicle (such as the UNIT is) would introduce major instability and have nothing to do with the needed bank transfer balance sheet.”

A reformed NDB, possibly next year under a new Russian presidency, should have all it takes to become a “BRICS’ IMF.”
Prof. Hudson adds that “to succeed, the Kazan conference should be a full-fledged BRICS Bretton Woods. Maybe it is too soon to actually introduce a fait accompli. Perhaps it would be a venue to throw open a set of alternatives -- including what would happen by ‘doing nothing’ and going with the current IMF system. The fact that the IMF just cancelled its trip to analyze the Russian economy may be a catalyst.”

Prof. Hudson in fact refers directly to Executive Director for Russia, Alexey Mohzin, who confirmed that the IMF should have come to Russia for consultations, part of their annual review of the Russian economy, but cancelled it because of “technical unpreparedness”.

All that brings us once again to the “Kissinger moment”; it’s unclear whether Kazan will come up with a “BRICS number” anyone could call.

Prof. Hudson makes an essential last point on the Global South’s dollar debt: he stresses “how to handle BRICS members existing overhang of dollar debts” is a major problem.

What is clear is that “the BRICS bank [the NDB] should not finance deficits by member countries for such payments. In practice, there would have to be a moratorium on such payments - in view of the present weaponization of Western finance.”

Prof. Hudson recalls the chapter in his book Super Imperialism “on how the US moved against Britain in 1944 to get an agreement that it then presented as a pro-US fait accompli to Europe.” The book “reviews all the arguments that took place there.”

Prof. Hudson wishes he would be part of the new, ongoing process. Imagine if BRICS+ manages to pull it off: getting a Global Majority-approved agreement on a new, equitable, fair financial system then presented to the $35 trillion-indebted superpower as a fait accompli.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240923/pepe-escobar-will-a-brics-bretton-woods-take-place-in-kazan-1120257701.html

Ditching the Dollar: Putin Announces Work on Independent BRICS Payment System for Global Trade, 09.26.2024.

Russia, together with BRICS countries, is working on creating its own payment system for the independent handling of all foreign trade, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced.
"In cooperation with BRICS countries, we are working on creating our own payment and settlement system, which will create conditions for the effective and independent servicing of all foreign trade," Putin said during the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

BRICS is an interstate organization established in 2006. As of January 1, 2024, Russia assumed the chairmanship of BRICS. This year, new members have joined the group - alongside Russia, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, it now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Putin further elaborated that BRICS sees its mission in combining economic potential and creating a space for mutually beneficial cooperation between countries.

"BRICS, with Russia chairing the organization this year, sees its mission in combining economic potential and creating opportunities for all those interested in harmonious, mutually beneficial cooperation," he said.

The president emphasized that this is about mutually beneficial cooperation. "In other words, it's in the common interests of our countries and peoples," Putin clarified.

Some people think that they can use illegal sanctions against Russia to their advantage in the energy sector, Putin said.
The president called modern energy one of the key industries, a real foundation for global development, adding that that its calm operation according to transparent and understandable rules, as well as the development of deposits, processing of resources, and uninterrupted supplies to the market create a solid foundation for economic growth, the social sphere, and improving the well-being of citizens.

"Unfortunately, this truism is being taken less and less into account by those who have adopted the mechanisms of illegal sanctions and believe that they can use them to their advantage in the energy sector," he noted.

Western elites are blocking access to the platform of fuel and energy technologies to undesirable countries, as they cannot cope with competition, the president pointed out.

"Western elites believed that they could block access to these services to those countries that they dislike politically, thus putting them on the sidelines of progress, but in fact simply squeeze them out of the market. I think many people will agree with me that all these tools are used primarily as tools of unfair competition," Putin said.

The West does not want competition because it cannot cope with it, it often loses in a fair fight, the president concluded.
The countries of the Global South with high birth rates will be the leaders in economic growth, President Putin noted.

"The leaders in terms of [economic] growth rates, I want to emphasize this, namely in terms of rates, will be the states of the so-called Global South, where the GDP per capita is still low, the urbanization rate is quite low and the birth rate is high. These are primarily the countries of South and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa," he said at the plenary session.

Vladimir Putin went on to say that Russia is ready to strengthen the technological sovereignty of its partners in the energy sector.

"Russia is ready to strengthen the technological sovereignty of its partners in the energy sector by forming full-fledged scientific and production chains," he added.

BRICS sees its task in combining economic potentials, creating a space for mutually beneficial cooperation between countries.
"BRICS — Russia is chairing this organization this year — sees its task in combining economic potentials, in creating a space of opportunities for all who are interested in harmonious, mutually beneficial cooperation," Putin emphasized.

The global economic growth in the 21st century will be concentrated in BRICS countries and not in Europe or North America, Putin elaborated.

"There is an emergence of multipolar models of development that are triggering a new wave of global growth for the entirety of the 21st century ... The main growth will concentrate not in Europe and not in North America, which are gradually losing their positions in the global economy, but in the BRICS countries and in those states that want to join our group," he noted.

The president added that the countries that aspire to join BRICS see prospects in an equal world as well as in respect of the countries' national interests.

Russia embodies a fair energy transition in practice, unlike a number of Western countries that only use the green agenda, the Russian president added.

"Our energy balance is one of the greenest in the world, this is an obvious fact. And unlike some Western countries that use the climate agenda to promote their essentially neo-colonial interests, we are putting into practice a fair, orderly energy transition," he said.

Energy consumption in Russia will grow by an average of 2% per year by the end of this decade, Putin explained.

"According to estimates, by the end of this decade, energy consumption in Russia will grow by an average of 2% - this is about the same indicator as in the whole world," the president said, adding that this is clear sign of economic growth.

Russia is fulfilling its obligations to supply energy resources to the world market.

"Russia fulfills its obligations to supply energy resources to the world market and plays a stabilizing role in it," Putin said during the session, adding that energy supplies from Russia will help to balance world markets.

Russia remains one of the leading participants in the energy market despite difficulties, President Putin elaborated.

"Despite objective difficulties, they are well known to everyone, in fact, everyone has difficulties, we have our own considerable difficulties, nevertheless, Russia remains one of the leading participants in the energy market in the world," he mentioned.

Over the past two and a half years, Russian companies have been able to redirect oil and coal supplies, the president said, adding that friendly countries account for 90% of Russia's energy exports.

If the share of the Asia-Pacific region in the country's energy exports was previously approximately 39%, by the end of last year it had grown by one and a half times and already exceeded 60%, he said.

"Deliveries via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline are increasing, and exports of liquefied natural gas [LNG] continue to grow," Putin said, adding that Russia will continue to develop its technologies in the field of LNG.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240926/ditching-the-dollar-putin-announces-work-on-independent-brics-payment-system-for-global-trade-1120296990.html

He is right when he points out there are problems using other currencies and payment systems, but for Russia and China and to a much lessor extent India, the Americans are making using the US dollar difficult or impossible so they really have no choice but to continue to pursue alternatives.

The US is using its control of the US dollar as a weapon, which makes alternatives to US dollars essential for countries like Russia and China... and as the west has found with sanctions, Russia and China are not tiny little countries that will fold and collapse with sanctions and economic pressure... they both produce things the world needs, and the west also needs.

You can't cut Russia out of the world economy because Russia produces too much of the energy and raw materials the world needs to function... including the west.

If Russia stopped exporting gas there is no replacement... many countries would struggle and for the rest the price of the energy available would skyrocket and become unaffordable to most.

Same with Uranium and titanium and nickel... Russia also exports lots of other things which are going to expand and become essential too...

The simple fact is that BRICS is growing and for western countries who are already forced to buy Russian oil and Russian gas in rubles these money issues are going to become normal until a proper agreed upon currency is created to replace the US dollar and the Euro for international trade.

He mentioned the problems of the Russians getting too many Rupees from India for energy, well that is only a problem because India does not produce anything that Russia wants in large enough volumes for the trade to balance. Some country that buys a lot of things from India and sells a lot of things to Russia might take Rupees as payment so solve the problem but equally Russia could invest in production in India using Indian workers to make things for the Russian market. Everything in India could be paid for in Rupees from the sales to India of oil and gas and other products and the products made in India can be shipped to Russia for use by Russian consumers or for the Russian market... it is paid for by rupees. Maybe building civilian shipping, or building drones, or making ammunition for the Russian military and sales to third party countries that the Russian companies in India could sell in rubles and return the profits to Russia in rubles. India would benefit because wages and taxes and local subcontractors would be paid in trade surplus rupees earned from energy sales to India, but products and third party profits could be paid in rubles and returned to Russia.

Western experts say dedollarisation is myth because the consequences are unthinkable for the US and the western economic model, but BRICS is already about trade outside the western economic model, where BRICS countries will use BRICS currencies and set market prices for their own commodities... starting with food security, and likely adding metals and other markets over time to replace western centric markets designed to control the world and keep the money in the west in the hands of a few, and who cares who starves or suffers..

The comment about restricting trade and damaging your economy by dropping the US dollar and using alternative currencies are amusing because it mentions Russia and yet ignores its booming economy and expanding exports and trade with the rest of the world.

Trade has certainly suffered with western countries but that is because of the sanctions and nothing to do with whether the US dollar is being used in trade or not.

They have to defend the US dollar because their house of cards is built on it as their foundation. When countries stop using it the foundations turn to sand and the whole house collapses and they find themselves on the street fending for themselves... I understand why they are scared... they should be telling Americans to vote for Trump... his wild ideas of dropping sanctions and letting Russia and China use US dollars again would be their only solution that could work.

Russia and China have been talking about dropping the dollar for decades but it wont be easy and will have initial problems... they only did it because the west banned them from SWIFT and seized their American dollar assets... THEY STOLE THEM AND ARE STEALING THE INTEREST THAT THEY SHOULD BE GETTING.

That is why BRICS are dedollarising and why they will push forward and get it done because the US can't be trusted and they don't want their money stolen again... part of TRUMP dropping the sanctions would have to include unfreezing Russian assets and if he doesn't then he should expect dedollarisation to continue.

UN Secretary General Decides to Attend BRICS Summit in Kazan, by Alexey Degtyarev for VZGLYAD. 10.04.2024.

UN Secretary General's Participation in BRICS Summit in Kazan Announced.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will take part in the BRICS summit, which will be held in Kazan, said Vladimir Kuznetsov, head of the world organization's information center in Russia.

Kuznetsov recalled that the BRICS summit will be held in a Russian city in three weeks, TASS reports .

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will participate in it as an invited guest, Kuznetsov noted.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed his participation in the BRICS summit in Kazan.

https://vz.ru/news/2024/10/4/1290749.html

This is a good article discussing the fall of the dollar could lead to fall of US empire; I think the US would go to war with Russia and China out of anger.

They have no one to blame but themselves... they were comfortable and in charge and they killed their own golden goose because they wanted more and they didn't want anyone else to have what they had.

Russia and China wanted comfortable safe lives like most western countries enjoy and the US wanted them to remain poor and keep supplying resources at bargain basement prices.

All they had to do was essentially what the BRICS countries are doing now and decolonialising the worlds trade so all countries can grow and develop and get that comfortable lifestyle the west keeps going on about... yet these days fewer and fewer people in the west are enjoying that comfort.

When I was a kid most people had holiday houses in the middle of nowhere they could go for a holiday and let friends and family use it occasionally. These days the kids will be lucky if they own their own house let alone buy some little house in the middle of nowhere, near a lake or a ski field.

The game was rigged and the west... the US... wanted to keep it that way, but they are playing a losing game... the emperor has no clothes... I remember in the 1990s the US boasted about being able to fight two or even three wars at one time. Of course realistically speaking that was a lie because they were feeding and involved in half a dozen wars at one time, but the suggestion of power has been bleed white now. The US is can't continue to support Ukraine and Taiwan and Israel.... a recent video I saw showed damaged weapons and ammo being sent to Taiwan because that was all they had.

It is one thing to multitask, but losing multiple wars at one time is no great achievement... especially when, in the process, you also destroy your control of world trade and sanction yourself so you can't access resources you actually need... like Uranium fuel, and Titanium, and rare earth minerals.

The US might be angry with China and Russia, but I rather suspect when their dollar collapses they will be rather more interested in other things... like all those soldiers coming home from bases all around the world and whether it was the Democrats or Republicans that were to blame for it all...

It is not in Russian or Chinese interests to make the US suffer more than it will, but the current behaviour... I can't see them making a lot of effort to help them either.

America is not very nice.

They slaughtered retreating Iraqi forces leaving Kuwaite, when the left Kabul the Taliban essentially just let them go... ISIS tried to hurt them as they left with that bomb that killed 13 soldiers that everyone gets upset about, but really if you want to learn about retreating from Afghanistan you need to talk to the British, or the French about withdrawing from Russia.

If the roles were reversed in Afghanistan the US would have killed as many as they could manage... The Taliban were just happy to see the Americans leave.

The US Empire is based on secrets and money... secrets to force western politicians to do what the US wants them to do, and money to bribe those that have no huge skeletons in their closets. Most of the spying architecture in the US is focused on US allies to get the dirt to blackmail unquestioned support for the US...

When the money is no good there will still be chances to blackmail, but their power will be massively diminished.

Presidential adviser reports that 32 countries confirm participation in the BRICS summit, 10.10.2024.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 32 countries have confirmed their participation in the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov announced.

"Invitations to the summit were sent to 38 States. Of course, it is about both the member countries and those who want to cooperate with our organization. Some 32 countries have already confirmed their participation," he said at a press conference.

Also, Ushakov did not rule out that the BRICS summit in Kazan could become the largest foreign policy event ever held in Russia.

"I would like to point out that of these 32 countries, 24 countries have confirmed the participation of their leaders at the Kazan summit, eight countries will be represented by second or third persons," he added.

The presidential adviser indicated that all BRICS member countries will also participate in the summit, adding that nine of them will be represented at the highest level and one country, Saudi Arabia, will send a foreign minister.

In addition, he specified that the secretaries-general of the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Union, the State of the Union and the president of the New Development Bank will attend the BRICS summit in Kazan.

In this context, Ushakov did not rule out that the list of participants at the BRICS summit in Kazan may be expanded.

"The doors of the BRICS are open for like-minded states that share the basic principles and objectives of our community," he said.

Moreover, Ushakov informed the West exerted pressure on the countries that will attend the summit.

"You know what the current situation is, of course, there was the pressure on this or that country, but, as I have already pointed out, the representation is very significant, including African countries. But, of course, there was pressure and I think it will continue to be exerted," Ushakov told reporters.

He also expressed the opinion that "not all countries of the world are interested in the success of the summit" in Kazan.

On January 1, Russia assumed the rotating presidency of the BRICS group for 2024, a year that began with the admission of new members.

In addition to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to which the group owes its acronym, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia now also make up the group.

Currently, the group represents almost half of the world's population, more than 40% of global crude oil production and about 25% of world exports.

Russia plans to organize more than 250 events in 11 regions this year within the framework of its presidency, including the XIV BRICS Summit in Kazan.

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://noticiaslatam.lat/20241010/asesor-presidencial-informa-que-32-paises-confirman-la-participacion-en-la-cumbre-de-los-brics-1158146413.html

Russia's proposed settlement system will save BRICS up to $30 billion a year, 10.10.2024.

The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, together with experts, have developed proposals for creating a system of settlements between the BRICS countries. The set of measures will save up to $30 billion and add up to 1 percentage point to annual GDP, they estimated.

Russian financial authorities and experts have presented their vision of a settlement system between BRICS countries, which involves making payments in national currencies between local banks and establishing direct links between the central banks of the Commonwealth countries. The proposals are reflected in a report on improving the international monetary and financial system, prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the consulting company Yakov & Partners. The main points of the report were presented by Ilya Ivaninsky, an expert partner at Yakov & Partners, at a high-level seminar on improving the monetary and financial system of the BRICS countries in Moscow, an RBC correspondent reports.

If the set of proposed measures is implemented, the BRICS countries will be able to save up to $30 billion, and the additional growth of their economies could amount to up to 1 percentage point, Ivaninsky noted.

As Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted at the beginning of the seminar, the BRICS countries are currently the "locomotive" of global economic growth. "The average GDP growth rate of the BRICS countries is 4.4% annually, while in the G7 countries it is 1.7%. It is clear who is developing more dynamically," he said. The G7 countries include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States. BRICS includes ten countries: Brazil, Egypt, India, Iran, China, the UAE, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and South Africa.

https://www.rbc.ru/economics/10/10/2024/6707f5be9a7947a605ad89b3