Reducing dependency on the US dollar and Western financial institutions: that's the key theme at the BRICS summit this year, where the leaders of some emerging economies meet to discuss top priorities.
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00:00It's the largest gathering of world leaders in Russia in decades.
00:04The countries attending, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, among others, are
00:10united by a desire to reduce dependence on Western-led institutions of global governance
00:16and finance.
00:18It's why one of the top items on the agenda at this year's summit is reducing dependence
00:23on the U.S. dollar and on the international SWIFT system used by financial institutions.
00:31Countries need the dollar.
00:32They will use the dollar.
00:33But would they like to find some other kind of bypass around the dollar if they need it?
00:37I think that's one of the drivers of why countries are certainly exploring alternatives, especially
00:42in the last few years.
00:44It's also why, since 2018, BRICS members have restructured their dollar reserves into gold
00:50at a faster rate than the rest of the world, even despite gold's historically high price
00:55tag.
00:56The aim is to insulate themselves from currency fluctuations, sanctions and what they see
01:00as economic coercion by the West, united by a goal, but not necessarily by a solution.
01:06They agree on what they dislike, but they don't agree on what they like.
01:09And I think that's one of the many hurdles they face if they would ever try to challenge
01:13the dollar.
01:14Last year, Brazilian President Lula da Silva proposed creating a new trading currency for
01:19BRICS members.
01:20But experts believe this would be difficult and that some members, like India, have a
01:24continued interest in trading with the dollar.
01:27Still, this year's summit signals a desire to move away from Western hegemony.
01:33Last year, BRICS added Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE to its ranks.
01:39Thailand and Malaysia have expressed interest in joining.
01:42Turkey has formally requested to join.
01:45The growing bloc now represents 25 percent of global GDP.