Economic implications of Ukraine war, sanctions & trade in national currencies high on BRICS Summit agenda

The economic implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and financial mechanisms to deal with the sanctions imposed by the US, European Union and others as well as cooperation among member countries to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic will be key items on the agenda when PM Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Presidents of S Africa and Brazil gather for BRICS Summit on June 24.

The use of national currencies of BRICS member countries, creation of an independent BRICS rating agency, and related issues could also be discussed by the five leaders at the summit which will be held virtually for the third successive year, ET has learnt.

The Summit is also expected to give a push to multilateral trading systems and explore BRICS cooperation in fields such as digital economy, investments, sustainable development and the stability of the supply chain, ET has learnt. UN organ UNIDO has expressed interest to work with BRICS in these fields.


The theme of this edition of the BRICS Summit, being held under the Chinese Presidency, is ‘Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development’. China has proposed the expansion of the BRICS but some BRICS states, including India, have reservations against expansion at this stage.

Interestingly, the BRICS Summit is being held ahead of the G-7 Summit in Germany where India has been invited along with South Africa.

On May 19, BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs met virtually, and the meeting was hosted by China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Alberto Franco França.

The focus of the meeting was preparation for the BRICS Summit. At the meeting, China expressed its keenness to enhance communication and coordination among fellow members of the grouping on major regional and international issues as well as the ongoing conflict, sources said.

Addressing the BRICS foreign ministers, Xi called for accommodating each other’s core interests and major concerns, respecting each other’s sovereignty, security and development interests and opposing hegemonism and power politics.