BRICS Seeks to Establish New Financial Institutions to Counter Western Influence

As Russia chairs BRICS this year, it calls for the group to establish alternatives to the IMF to resist Western political pressure. Key finance officials meet in Moscow to discuss creating a new financial system independent from Western influences, emphasizing an intra-BRICS payments system and development bank.

This year, Russia leads the BRICS group with a key agenda: proposing an alternative financial system to the International Monetary Fund, aiming to buffer the bloc from Western political influence, particularly ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit.

Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, BRICS now includes nations like South Africa, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov emphasized during a Moscow meeting with top finance and central bank officials that the global financial system, steered predominantly by Western nations, necessitates a new alternative institution reflecting BRICS' 37% control of the global economy.

Amidst sanctions and frozen forex reserves due to its 2022 Ukraine invasion, Russia's financial challenges underscore the need for a BRICS-specific financial framework. Slow progress on the BRICS Bridge payments system has been noted, but the New Development Bank remains a significant, established institution within the coalition.

(With inputs from agencies.)