A former Russian minister says a BRICS currency with unique attributes is nearly ready to launch.
In an interview with TV BRICS, Sergey Glazyev says that the currency itself is almost complete, but it still needs support from all leaders of the economic alliance.
According to Glazyev, some member nations have already thrown their weight behind the currency.
“We need only political will because technically this currency is almost ready. The software and mathematical tools have been created.
In order to launch this currency, we need the political consent of the BRICS countries, three of which have already expressed their support for the idea of introducing a new currency through their heads of state. We are waiting for the reaction of China and India.”
The former minister also says that Russia will be in a position next year to convince other BRICS nations to green-light the currency.
“And in order to launch such a currency, Russia, as the presiding country next year, could convene an international conference to sign an agreement on the introduction of such a new international settlement currency.”
As a whole, BRICS nations have expressed varying levels of support for a common currency, with leaders in Russia and Brazil firmly behind the idea. South Africa is the most conservative, expressing the need for a cautious approach while emphasizing the importance of the US dollar.
According to Glazyev, the new currency will be backed by two baskets which would make it less susceptible to debasement and more attractive than the US dollar.
“It is based not only on a basket of national currencies of the member countries, but also on a basket of exchange commodities. The model shows that this currency will be very stable and much more attractive than the dollar, pound and euro.”
Glazyev was Russia’s foreign economic relations minister in 1993 before serving as a State Duma deputy for 14 years.
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