India says will back Sri Lanka’s BRICS membership request
COLOMBO– India will back Sri Lanka’s bid to become a member of BRICS group when the World’s powerful South-South corporation considers news membership, India’s Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri said.
Sri Lanka’s application to become a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) member was not accepted by the group’s current membership in October.
However, Sri Lanka’s request to become a member of BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) was accepted in the October summit held in Russia.
BRICS, an economic and political group, has been gaining increasing relevance in recent years.
It poses several potential challenges to the global dominance of the United States and the central role of the US dollar in international trade and finance.
Sri Lanka has sought the help of BRICS members to push for its own membership.
“There was a few references to Sri Lanka’s desire to be a part of multilateral organizations. You are aware that Sri Lanka has previously expressed its interest in becoming a member of BRICS,” India’s Foreign Secretary Misri told reporters at a media briefing on Monday (16).
He said currently there were no new members being considered by BRICS in addition to the ones that were already in the bloc since last year.
“But as and when there is a consensus within BRICS to start looking at new members, we will certainly take into account the interest that has been expressed by Sri Lanka,” Misri said.
“This is something that was communicated by the prime minister to President Dissanayake.”
One of the primary goals of BRICS has been to reduce their dependence on the US dollar in international trade. Member nations have been exploring the use of local currencies in trade settlements, reducing exposure to dollar volatility and US-imposed sanctions.
US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on the BRICS if they were to create a rival currency to the US dollar.
-economynext.com
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