The president of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, on Tuesday, that the BRICS group (made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has become more “powerful, strong and important” than the G7, after of the summit meeting in which the expansion of the bloc was announced.
Last week, the BRICS announced the beginning of the group’s expansion process, to which six other countries will join from January 2024: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran.
Lula took advantage of his weekly program “Conversa com o Presidente”, broadcast by Empresa Brasileira de Comunicação (EBC) to take stock of the meeting of heads of state held in the South African city of Johannesburg. “I think the world will no longer be the same after the creation of BRICS, at least in economic discussions. Today, the BRICS is stronger than the G7”, he said, citing the group that brings together the developed economies and is made up of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“Today, the BRICS represent 32% of (world) GDP in purchasing power parity, while the G7 represents only 29%. This means that there has been a significant change”, highlighted Lula.
The Brazilian president also commented on his proposal to create a new reference currency to replace the dollar in commercial transactions between members of the bloc and mentioned the euro. “We can trade with our currencies without any problems. Europeans created the euro, we need to create something. It’s not against the dollar, it’s in favor of Brazil, Brazilian trade and the real,” he said.
The last BRICS summit determined that the finance ministers use the next 12 months to discuss the proposal, according to Lula, “to see if we can get a reference currency for exports approved”.
Source: http://www.chinahoje.net/lula-afirma-que-brics-com-ampliacao-esta-mais-forte-do-que-o-g7/
