Brazilian President Says He Dreams Of Common Currency For BRICS

MEXICO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2023) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that he dreams of a common Currency for the BRICS member states so that his country would not need to use US Dollars in foreign trade.

"I dream of having a common currency for our countries to use in transactions, so that we could be independent from the (US) dollar. It cannot be that we couldn't have more freedom for conducting business. I dream of BRICS having its own currency, like the European Union's euro," he said at a joint press conference with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Lula added that the key topic of the 2023 South American summit, which is set to take place on May 30 in the capital city of Brasilia, will be "the building of an economic block, the creation of an environment and the economy of that environment.

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Discussing independence from the US Dollar, the president cited as an example the current situation in Venezuela, which could then pay for imports with other states' currencies.

"This is because of the United States; it has imposed an overly strict embargo. I can only say that embargoes are worse than wars � in wars, soldiers (die) on the battlefield, but if it is an embargo we are talking about, children die, women die, elderly people die who have no relation whatsoever to political disputes," he said.�

BRICS is an association that unites the world's largest developing economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Argentina applied for membership in BRICS in September 2022. In particular, the country has strong economic ties with China and Brazil.