Russia Calls for IMF Alternative at BRICS Summit

MOSCOW (Reuters) – As the chair of BRICS this year, Russia urges its partners to establish an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to mitigate political pressures from Western nations ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit.

Originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, BRICS has expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Top finance and central bank officials from BRICS are convening in Moscow this week.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, hosting the meeting, asserted that the global financial system is dominated by Western countries, stressing the need for BRICS, representing 37% of the global economy, to create an alternative.

> "The IMF and the World Bank are not performing their roles. They are not working in the interests of BRICS countries," Siluanov remarked at the opening event of the meeting.
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> "It is necessary to form new conditions or even new institutions, similar to the Bretton Woods institutions, but within our community, within BRICS," he added.

Following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia faced frozen forex reserves in dollars and euros, coupled with severe sanctions from the West, disrupting its financial system and barring access to international capital markets.

Additionally, Russia has experienced delays in transactions with trading partners, including members of BRICS, as banks in these countries avoid punitive measures from Western regulators.

Elvira Nabiullina, Russia's central bank Governor, previously highlighted the concept of a BRICS Bridge payment system to connect the financial systems of member countries, though progress has been slow.

So far, the only financial institution established by BRICS is the New Development Bank, founded in 2015 to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects for BRICS members and other emerging economies.