BRICS to Use Their Own Currencies in Transactions

New Delhi, Mar 28 (Prensa Latina) The development and export/import banks of member countries of BRICS are about to agree on the use of their own currencies in commercial and credit operations within the group., said Trade Minister of India Anand Sharma. Sharma is expected to discuss this and other related issues on Wednesday with his counterparts of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa as a preliminary to their 4th summit.

He said that initiatives of this kind will contribute to broaden trade and investments among BRICS, which have potentials still untapped, and facilitate our economic development as world economy remains plunged into uncertainty.

Sharma commented that the weakened global demand of goods and services, above all from Western markets, is affecting export prospects and growth possibilities of member countries of the group.

He cited the example of China, which in January reported a trade surplus of 27.28 billion USD, registered a deficit of 31.48 billion USD a month later and revised down its economic growth forecast to 7.5 percent.

He said that phenomenon is also being felt in India, whose Gross Internal Product will only grow 6.9 percent this year (about to end on March 31), the slowest pace in the past three years. Though risks resulting from the debt crisis in the eurozone and the uncertainty in world energy markets will affect BRICS countries, Iâ�Öm confident that economies of members of the group will register a strong growth, said Sharma.

On Wednesday, Trade ministers of BRICS will discuss several measures to make cooperation more viable in this and other areas.

sgl/rma/rmh/asg
Modificado el ( miércoles, 28 de marzo de 2012 )