Central African country seeks BRICS membership
Becoming a member of BRICS would create new opportunities for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), helping the country to deepen economic ties with other members of the group, a Congolese trade official told RT on Tuesday.
Thierry Naweji Kankwala, Executive Chairman of the South Africa – DR Congo Chamber of Commerce, said the collective of major emerging economies provides an alternative to global institutions dominated by Western powers. He noted that membership of BRICS – currently comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – would provide the DRC with benefits including development finance and increased trade.
“We're going that route because to be a friend of BRICS already means a lot. We're sharing the same region, we're sharing ideas. I believe DRC will definitely be part of the BRICS countries,” Kankwala said, speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
More than 40 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Algeria, Indonesia, Egypt, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kazakhstan, have expressed an interest in joining BRICS, according to 2023 Summit host South Africa.
One of the central items on the agenda is boosting the role of national currencies in trade between emerging economies, particularly in the Global South.
Kankwala stressed that conducting settlements in non-Western currencies is of key importance for DR Congo’s development. “DRC cannot afford the monopoly of the US dollar” and needs an alternative to the greenback and the euro, he noted.
The official added that DRC will benefit from the creation of a multipolar international trade system allowing African countries to have a sovereign strategy on trade in their resources.
"We need that expansion of our trade for resources with the BRICS countries. The DRC also needs the BRICS countries for the expansion in terms of infrastructure and other development of the economy," he concluded.
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