BRICS payment system will replace SWIFT in new ‘non-Western world’ – AFROCOM head
The unipolar world is collapsing and a multipolar world is being formed with the participation of Africa, where a newly-minted middle-class will drive consumer demand in the near future, the head of the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AFROCOM), Igor Morozov told RT on Friday.
Last year alone, 19 African countries applied for BRICS membership because they wanted completely new economic relations, Morozov revealed on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.
After the US and the EU seized Russia’s forex reserves, the world realized that it is not only a “political weapon,” but an instrument of financial pressure on the external and internal policy of any country and any continent, according to Morozov. The US dollar has been weaponized, which is why nations will gradually move away from using it in trade and the BRICS payment system will replace the SWIFT financial messaging network in a “new non-Western world.”
“African leaders are also concerned about further use of the dollar and euro. In this regard, the number of countries wishing to join BRICS is growing rapidly, because this is an alternative payment system that is due to emerge within half a year,” he said.
BRICS is pushing towards trade in national currencies and has begun efforts to establish a joint payment network to cut off reliance on the Western financial system, particularly the dollar. Russian trade ties with African countries have been strengthening in recent years and there’s more room for growth, including through free-trade zones that are actively developing in African countries, Morozov noted.
“We are ready and we will supply annually through humanitarian aid everything that we have in the agro-industrial complex. Our tractors, aggregates, mineral fertilizers and technologies. We’ve achieved amazing results in ten years and we want to share this experience with our African partners,” he stated.
He added that Russia would “do everything” to ensure the African economy has a future with access to innovative technologies.
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