Kathmandu. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the time for a common BRICS currency has not yet come. However, the group of 10 nations is exploring the possibility of using digital currency in mutual trade and investment. Putin stressed that member states should focus on using national currencies and creating new financial instruments.

 It is also said that this group of 10 countries is considering the use of digital currency in mutual trade and investment. For this, Russia is working with China, India and other countries. India has said that it will not participate in any agenda against the US dollar.

Putin said that due to the differences in the structure and quality of the economies of the BRICS member countries, caution should be taken when creating a new reserve currency. He said that these countries should focus on the use of national currencies, new financial instruments and creating another system like SWIFT.

This statement of the Russian President came in response to a question about BRICS' plans to create a reserve currency. BRICS is seen as an alternative to the geopolitical and geo-economic dominance of the West. Russia is hosting the 16th annual BRICS Summit in Kazan, Tatarstan. The event will be held from October 22 to 23. After joining Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this group is about to hold its first summit. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are original members of BRICS.

Countries like Russia and China have sought to create alternative global financial and technological systems to counter the dominance of the US dollar. This is called the de-dollarization agenda. India has made it clear that it has no plans to end its dependence on the US dollar. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar recently said that India is not interested in the de-dollarization agenda.

What is the BRICS group ?
In 2001, Jim O'Neill, an economist at Goldman Sachs, coined the term 'BRICS' to refer to Brazil, Russia, India and China. He also predicted that these countries will become the world's leading economies by 2050. These are large, middle-income but rapidly growing countries.

In 2006, those four countries decided to form the BRIC group. After South Africa joined in 2010, it will become 'BRICS'. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also joined BRICS.

BRICS aims to find ways to reform international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank and to create a 'voice and representation' for emerging economies. Since 2009, the BRICS nations have been holding a formal summit every year. In which the member states have been organizing in turn. The first five-member BRICS summit was held in 2011.