• Positions Nigeria as gateway to Africa’s expanding AfCFTA market
• Seeks deeper BRICS partnerships in AI, fintech, cybersecurity, biotech

BRICS countries have committed to promoting local currencies for trade settlements, aiming to reduce transaction costs and facilitate bilateral trade within the bloc.

The Secretary of Economic Relations at India’s Ministry of External Affairs disclosed this in a sideline interview during the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi yesterday.

Dalela said discussions on local currency settlement had been ongoing among BRICS members and were aimed at developing practical mechanisms to facilitate trade.

“Local currency settlement is a practical mechanism to reduce transaction costs and boost bilateral trade,” he said.

This comes as President Bola Tinubu yesterday at the summit called for a fundamental overhaul of the global governance architecture and international financial system, declaring that the institutions shaping the world order must be reformed to reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.

The President said Nigeria supported a more representative, equitable and responsive international system, including reform of the United Nations Security Council and global financial institutions.

He said the transformation being championed by BRICS should extend beyond economic cooperation to the broader architecture of global governance.

“Nigeria supports a more representative, equitable and responsive global governance architecture, including reform of the United Nations Security Council and the international financial system.

“BRICS amplifies the voice of the Global South and advances a more inclusive international order, consistent with Nigeria’s call for institutions that reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities,” he said.

Against this backdrop, Tinubu called for a BRICS partnership focused on translating political commitments into tangible economic outcomes.

He said Nigeria sought “a BRICS partnership that moves from dialogue to delivery, from commitments to implementation, and from cooperation to measurable development outcomes.”

The President also used the summit to pitch Nigeria as a strategic destination for global investment, urging investors to see the country as a gateway to Africa’s rapidly expanding single market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He said Nigeria’s economic resilience strategy was anchored on building an economy capable of absorbing global shocks while creating sustainable opportunities for its citizens.

According to him, the objective is being pursued through reforms under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen macroeconomic stability, diversify production, raise productivity, expand infrastructure and human capital, attract investment, promote private-sector-led growth and deepen climate resilience.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while opening the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, said confidence in BRICS among countries of the Global South had continued to grow because their voices were being heard, their experiences respected and solutions developed with them rather than for them.

Modi said the strength of BRICS lay in the diversity of its membership and its capacity for cooperation, stressing that the bloc was expanding participation beyond governments to entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women and young people.