RRICS, a key regional economic alliance aimed at countering Western dominance, has taken a significant step by launching the "BRICS Pay" transaction system on Monday (21 October), as part of its strategy to exclude the dollar from international transactions.
On Tuesday (22 October), the BRICS summit commenced at the Kremlin's invitation, with the meetings of this emerging economies' bloc taking place in Kazan, Russia.
The summit is scheduled to conclude on 24 October.
This year's summit is expected to see the participation of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Russia has also expressed hope for the attendance of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Core members of BRICS are Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa.
Western nations have long been sceptical of BRICS, often viewing it as a tool for Russia to expand its influence and promote its narrative on the Ukraine conflict.
However, ahead of the summit, BRICS took a bold step by creating a distinct financial transaction system to facilitate international trade among its members. This move is seen as bringing the global financial system to the cusp of a significant transformation.
The recent BRICS summit saw the official unveiling of the "BRICS Pay" platform. It was announced that this platform will facilitate dollar-free transactions, ease trade among member countries, and play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of Western sanctions.
Reports indicate that "BRICS Pay" will be powered by cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and has the potential to become a robust alternative to the globally dominant SWIFT banking communication system.
Valentina Matviyenko, chairperson of the Russian Federation Council (the upper house of Russia's parliament), noted that although this financial system was once just a dream and a plan, it has now materialised into reality.
In a separate development, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has cancelled his trip to Russia for the BRICS summit following a minor brain haemorrhage caused by a fall at home. After doctors advised him to avoid long flights for a while, Reuters reported that Lula has decided to refrain from attending the summit in person.
On Sunday, the Brazilian President's office released a statement explaining that Lula, 78, will participate in the BRICS meetings via videoconference.
He was originally scheduled to depart for Russia on Sunday afternoon.
