The BRICS alliance is advancing to dethrone the U.S. dollar and uproot its supreme status as the global reserve currency. BRICS members Russia and China are convincing other developing countries to ditch the U.S. dollar and accept the soon-to-be-released currency for cross-border transactions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Putin’s administration has convinced 10 Southeast Asian countries to sideline the U.S. dollar for international trade. The development comes on the heels of the next BRICS summit which will be held in South Africa in August.
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BRICS: 10 Southeast Asian Countries Ditch U.S. Dollar, Use Local Currencies For Global Trade
Lavrov said to the Indonesian newspaper Kompas that 10 Southeast Asian countries will soon stop trading in the U.S. dollar. The 10 countries are the ASEAN bloc and could soon side with the BRICS alliance in its quest to dethrone the U.S. dollar. “We are giving special attention to the development of a strategic partnership with the (ASEAN) association,” he said.
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The ASEAN members comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN recently signed an agreement to promote local currencies and strengthen their local economies. The move will put pressure on the U.S. dollar as the group will slowly end reliance on the greenback.
Lavrov said that America’s disregard for other developing countries is what led them to ditch the U.S. dollar. The U.S. puts its interests first by letting other countries’ economies go down the drain, he said.
“Western egocentrism that disregards the interests of Global South and East countries actually contributes to the search for alternative cooperation formats in all fields. Due to the confiscation of Russia’s foreign reserves in the U.S. and Europe, there is a growing understanding in the global community that no one is immune from the confiscation of tangible assets stored in Western jurisdiction,” he said.