While all eyes are now on the annual Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming this weekend, the 15th BRICS summit is also stealing the limelight.
The summit that brings together BRICS leaders in Johannesburg, South Africa has already started on Tuesday which will last for three days.
Despite this, Russian President Vladimir Putin only participated in the meeting online due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against him if he leaves the country.
Just mention BRICS, of course what comes to mind is 'dedollarization'. However, will it happen at this meeting?
For now, the pact is still divided on whether it wants to increase the local currency among members or create a common currency.
China and India are among those who support the use of local currencies, while Brazil insists on the need for a common currency.
Meanwhile, the New Development Bank (NDB) known as a competitor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced plans to start lending in South African and Brazilian currencies.
The purpose is one, which is to reduce dependence on the American dollar.
However, NDB President Dilma Rousseff said the bank would try to differentiate itself from the IMF and the World Bank by not setting political conditions for loans.
In addition, the bank is also said to be in the process of issuing local currency-denominated BRICS bonds in Brazil, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
With the conference still two days away, there are more things that member countries need to look into for the future direction of the pact.
