A new common payment system for the BRICS countries is in the works for the grouping’s August 22-24 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, writes journalist Pepe Escobar in “BRICS Problems, BRI Solutions,” published in The Cradle.
While Escobar acknowledges the more advanced discussions led by Sergey Glazyev in the Eurasian Economic Union, he anticipates that the main focus for the BRICS will be to work out how to move to R5 trade. The name comes from the fact that all five members have currencies starting with r: the real, ruble, rupee, renminbi, and rand. Escobar: “R5 will allow current members to increase mutual trade by bypassing the U.S. dollar and reducing their dollar reserves.”
He also points to progress along the International North-South Transport Corridor, which will connect Russia with India by passing, by land, through Russia, Azerbaijan (potentially Armenia, too), and Iran, then by sea to India. The route is much shorter than traveling entirely by ship from St. Petersburg to India. Escobar’s estimate is that it will reduce the cost of such a journey by 50% and shave off 20 days of transit. Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Saveliev said recently that Russia plans to invest $3 billion into the corridor by 2030. Imagine, in this context, the added potential of the Trans-Afghan Railway — as part of linking Uzbekistan with Pakistan, via Afghanistan.
