BRICS Members Call for Urgent Reforms to the IMF and World Bank
Finance ministers and central bank governors of BRICS countries on Friday once again called for urgent reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, seeking greater influence for emerging and developing economies in the two institutions.
In a joint statement, BRICS officials said the post-World War II Bretton Woods institutions should better reflect changes in the global economy. They called for increased quotas and voting shares for emerging and developing countries at the IMF, as well as greater representation of these economies in the leadership of the IMF and World Bank.
They also expressed serious concern over rising protectionism, including unilateral tariffs and other trade and financial measures that they said disrupt trade, conflict with WTO rules and place the greatest pressure on developing economies.
BRICS identified geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, policy uncertainty, debt and inflationary pressures as risks to the global outlook.
On payments, BRICS agreed to continue exploring ways to make cross-border transactions faster and cheaper, including greater use of local currencies for trade and investment.
According to Bloomberg, India has previously been reported to be pushing BRICS countries to expand the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments, while opposing a unified payment network that could be viewed as a challenge to the dollar.
