Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov is anticipating the establishment of a new financial system to smoothen inter-currency payments and improve inter-depositary relations among BRICS countries, aiming to boost trade and economic ties.
Speaking with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Siluanov said he hopes to see the introduction of a BRICS payment system to facilitate capital movement among member states.
"It seems to me we need to create alternatives to the current system of payments and settlements. We're not talking about a single currency. We're not talking about a single owned payment unit. We're talking about the fact that money goes between our countries for goods, services, and capital too. That the capital could also be moved between our countries," said the Russian financial minister.
He also highlighted the importance of creating of inter-depositary relations among BRICS countries to reduce investment barriers.
"We see the need to create inter-depositary relationships between our countries so investors can invest money without hindrance, so the system of inter-depositary interaction between BRICS participants would work. There has been a proposal to do this on the basis of blockchain technologies and other modern technologies. This will be a step forward compared to the current systems between depositories," said Siluanov.
BRICS began with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has now evolved into an influential international cooperation mechanism with an expanded membership.
Other than the countries that officially joined the BRICS family on January 1, 2024, over 30 countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Türkiye and Azerbaijan have either formally applied for or expressed interest in membership.
The 16th BRICS Summit, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday in Kazan, Russia, marks the first in-person BRICS gathering since its expansion.
Siluanov emphasized the potential of stronger economic connections after the BRICS expansion.
"Indeed, the number of countries in our community has grown. This is good. We see that the economic potential of our community is growing. But the increase in the number of BRICS members is not in itself an aim. I believe we need to establish good economic ties, an uninterrupted settlement system and, accordingly, increase our trade turnover," he said.
Russian minister urges to spur inter-depositary interaction between BRICS countries
Indonesia will strengthen its scientific and technological collaboration with China, particularly in fields like artificial intelligence (AI), space exploration, and ocean research, to drive technological innovation and economic growth, according to an Indonesian official.
In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Laksana Tri Handoko, chairman of the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), spoke highly of successful collaborations with Chins in the fields of science and technology and and expressed a desire for even closer ties.
Handoko discussed the rapid development of technologies such as AI and highlighted that Indonesia is accelerating its own technological innovation to serve its economic development while recognizing China's advancements in these fields.
"That kind of emerging, advanced technologies are very important and we have to take care about that and we have to prepare ourselves to be ready, not only as the user, but also how to utilize it as another thriving source for our economic development in the future. Indonesia for sure is also working very hard on the kind of emerging technologies, something like artificial intelligence and so on and so forth. In that sense, China is very strong,"he said.
The chairman praised China's expertise in high-performance computing facilities and expressed a desire for Indonesia to implement similar technologies in the future.
"They are not only strong in the science itself, but they are also very, very strong on the technology. For example, I think the latest high-performance computing. They are also developing very competitive high-performance computing facilities. We are very much interested in adopting their technology, so we can realize and we can utilize for example artificial intelligence as a tool to develop other things using the big data collected from our local sources, but with very, very cost-effective facilities," Handoko added.
Handoko pointed to the importance of collaborative efforts in space and deep-sea exploration, highlighting their crucial role in propelling Indonesia's technological advancement. This collaboration involves BRIN, the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS), and the private sector, working together to develop a remote sensing satellite constellation.
"China is a giant country in regard to science globally, and we are currently working together in many fields of research and science. For instance, if we are talking about space, we are working together on developing our first remote sensing satellite constellation, the first Indonesia remote sensing satellite constellation, because we do not have such advanced technology in this country right now. But on the other hand, if we are talking maritime oceanic research, for instance, we are also working very closely with our Chinese institutions. We have conducted many joint expeditions on international and also Indonesian waters to explore the deep-sea. Because most of the Indonesian waters are dominated by deep-sea that is much deeper than 200 meters," he said.
Indonesia to deepen science, tech cooperation with China: official
