African nation wants to join BRICS

RT
Thu, 16 Mar 2023 08:11 UTC

© Unknown

Harare, Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean government would like to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc, the speaker of the ruling party ZANU-PF said on Wednesday.

"We made it clear that we would like to become a member of the BRICS," Christopher Mutsvangwa told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.

The official added that his country is interested in developing alternatives to the Western-dominated SWIFT payment network. In his view, BRICS could contribute to that.

Mutsvangwa described BRICS as a new force in international relations, and said he hopes its growth and expansion will continue.

The five BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - account for more than 40% of the world's population and nearly a quarter of global GDP.

Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "more than a dozen" nations have expressed an interest in entering the BRICS alliance.

They include Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Comment: Join BRICS? Ditch the Dollar!

The central banks of Russia and Zimbabwe should establish settlements in local currencies and look at opportunities for securing trade in gold reserves, the speaker of the Zimbabwean ruling party ZANU-PF, Christopher Mutsvangwa, told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

The southern African country has been under Western sanctions for 22 years, the official noted, adding that curbs imposed on Russia should not handicap trade between the two countries.

Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia and countries in Africa were developing a cooperation strategy to replace the US dollar and the euro in settlements, adding that the parties were preparing documents on rearranging the mechanism of cooperation under Western sanctions.

Mutsvangwa suggested:

"Our banks should find a way to make the Russian ruble and the Zimbabwean dollar freely convertible. Also, our countries both have rich gold reserves. We are among the top seven countries in terms of gold mining, and production volumes are growing. We are now mining 35 tons per year, but we could mine all 50. So we could think about securing our trade in gold reserves."

The official went on to say that "nothing could derail" trade between Moscow and Harare, noting that China, India, and Middle Eastern nations were also moving towards abandoning the dollar in settlements.

The politician also proposed establishing more banks that use alternative payment systems to replace the West's SWIFT messaging system. He noted that trade in dollars was "a limiting factor" adding that Russia and African nations should set up "more banks outside of the US-run global SWIFT banking system."

Links to Russia's new trade partners in African countries, including Zimbabwe, have been quickly taking shape in recent years. In 2019, Russia hosted the first Russia-Africa Summit, with participants outlining priority areas for economic cooperation, security, culture and science. The second summit is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg in July.

Sudan may follow suit:

Sudan and Russia are mulling ways to switch to national currencies in mutual settlements according to Sudanese ambassador to Russia, Hassan Mohammed Elghazali Eltijani Sirraj.

"Russia has suggested to Sudan to use a system of financial transactions, in which we would use national currencies. This issue is being discussed by the central banks of both countries; we will see if this is possible. This is largely a technical issue. The central banks will study this issue, see how it actually works, and in the near future we should see the result."

According to Sirraj, Sudan is eager to expand trade ties with Russia and could become a hub for the sale of Russian products to other African nations due to its strategically convenient location.

"I believe that we can work together to develop our relations further in the future, especially since we have a solid foundation for this. In the near future, we would like to increase the level of our economic interaction. We would also like to open Russian markets for goods from Sudan, especially in the agricultural sector. In my opinion, today our trade turnover is not at a level that would be desirable - an increase would have a positive effect on both Russia and Sudan."

The diplomat suggested that Sudan could supply Russian markets with good quality cotton, food supplements and seasonal fruits, while buying grain and oil from Moscow.

Khartoum is also interested in increasing cooperation with Russian businesses in mineral exploration and mining. According to Sirraj, a number of Russian exploration and mining companies are already operating in Sudan, and the African country expects to attract more Russian investments to the sector, with several agreements already under discussion.

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Sudan, where he held talks with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Al-Sadiq and other top officials. Sirraj called Lavrov's visit an important milestone in the development of Sudan-Russia bilateral relations.