BRICS currency not on the cards yet, says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS Business Forum, in Moscow, Russia. Pic/Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the time has not come yet for a common BRICS currency but added that the ten-nation bloc is exploring the use of digital currencies in mutual trade and investments for which his country is working with India and other nations.

Advocating a cautious approach in creating a new reserve currency due to differences in the structure and quality of the economies of the BRICS member states, Putin said these countries should focus on the use of the national currencies, new financial instruments and the creation of an analogue of SWIFT.

"At this point of time, it [a BRICS currency] is a long term prospect. It is not under consideration. BRICS will be cautious and act gradually, move slowly. The time has not come yet," Putin told a select group of senior editors from the BRICS member states at a media interaction at his official residence in Novo-Ogaryovo.

The Russian strongman's remarks came in reply to a question about plans by the BRICS - a grouping conceived as a geopolitical and geoeconomic counterweight to the West - to create a reserve currency. Russia is hosting the 16th annual BRICS summit in the Tatarstan city of Kazan next week. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the summit from October 22 to 23.

It will also be the first ever summit of the grouping after its expansion with the entry of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are the original members of the BRICS. Replying to a question, Putin said the BRICS was now studying the possibility of expanding the use of the national currencies and creation of instruments that would make such work safe.

In particular, the BRICS states were considering the possibility of using electronic instruments, he added. "We are looking into the possibility of expanding the use of national currencies and settlements, and want to establish the tools that would make this safe and secure enough," said Putin.

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