In an interview with Russia Today (RT) on Friday, Igor Morozov, the head of the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AFROCOM), said that as the unipolar world is collapsing, a new multipolar world was forming with the active participation of Africa, where a newly growing middle class will be a major driver of consumer demand in the near future.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit, Morozov revealed that in just the last year alone, 19 African nations have applied to become members of the BRICS alliance, due to a desire for a completely new economic relationship to the global economy.
Following the seizure of Russia’s forex reserves by the EU and Russia, the world began to see Western financial systems as not only a “political weapon,” but as an instrument of economic pressure which could be applied to the political decisions of any nation on any continent, over any issues facing the nation, both domestic and international.
He went on to argue that the US dollar is now weaponized, and as nations realize that, they will seek to abandon its usage as a means of settling cross-border trade obligations. As they move away from it, he said they would replace it with the BRICS payment system, which would replace the SWIFT financial messaging system in a “new non-Western world.”
He said, “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.”
The BRICS alliance has been moving toward settling trade between members in national currencies, and has begun the development of a joint payment network which would free it from reliance on Western financial systems, in particular the dollar. In recent years Morozov noted, Russia’s trade relationships in Africa have been strengthening, however there is still enormous room for growth, including through free-trade zones which African nations are rapidly developing.
He stated, “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 concluded by noting that Russia was committed to doing “everything” it could to make sure Africa’s economic future is able to freely make use of all future technological innovations.
