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According to information from Brasil de Fato, the New Development Bank of the BRICS held its 11th annual meeting for the first time in Moscow, on May 14 and 15, with the theme “development financing in an era of technological revolution”. Dilma Rousseff, former Brazilian president and current head of the institution, warned in her opening speech that unilateral sanctions create significant costs even for the countries that impose them, and that the crisis in the Middle East exacerbates global instability.
The debates were led by Dilma Rousseff, in her capacity as president of the New Development Bank of the BRICS since 2023. On May 14 and 15, in Moscow, it was the first time the Russian capital hosted the institution’s annual meeting. The seminar brought together senior government officials, finance ministers, central bank representatives, economists, and political leaders from member countries to assess the development prospects of emerging economies. Why the meeting gained special relevance now: the meeting takes place amid trade wars, an energy crisis caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, and financial volatility that put pressure on all countries in the world, according to Dilma.
American economist Jeffrey Sachs, who participated on the first day of the conference, reinforced the strategic importance of the bank by advocating for the creation of a payment system outside the dollar. “We need a payment system outside the dollar, and the BRICS are essential and unique to build this system,” declared Sachs. Currently, about 46% of the BRICS Bank’s operations are already conducted in national currencies, outside the US dollar.
Dilma’s warning about sanctions that are costly for everyone
Dilma Rousseff’s opening speech at the BRICS meeting in Moscow focused on the impact of unilateral economic sanctions on the global economy. The bank’s president warned that these measures not only disrupt trade and critical supply chains of the sanctioned countries, but also create market restrictions with significant costs for the countries that impose the sanctions themselves. Dilma specifically cited Europe as an example of a region suffering the consequences of restrictive measures.
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The former Brazilian president highlighted the “disruptive capacity of unilateral sanctions that exacerbate shortages in already strained markets of oil, gas, and fertilizers amid blockades in the Middle East”. Dilma’s argument is that, in an interconnected world, economically punishing a country inevitably affects global supply chains on which the sanctioners themselves depend. Russian fertilizers, Iranian oil, and natural gas from sanctioned regions fuel European economies that, by cutting off supply, face energy and food inflation.
46% outside the dollar: how the BRICS Bank operates
One of the most concrete strategies of the BRICS Bank is the expansion of the use of local currencies in transactions between member countries. Currently, about 46% of the bank’s operations are already conducted outside the dollar, in national currencies such as yuan, rupee, real, and ruble. This percentage is significant for an institution created just 10 years ago and indicates a deliberate trend to reduce dependence on the dollar-denominated financial system.
For global south countries facing restrictions on access to dollars, conducting operations in local currencies eliminates an intermediary that makes financing more expensive and complicated. When Brazil takes a loan in dollars to finance infrastructure, it needs to generate revenue in dollars to pay the debt, which creates currency exposure. If the same loan is made in reais, the currency risk disappears. Multiplying this logic by dozens of operations in various countries is what the BRICS Bank seeks to do by expanding transactions in national currencies.
Jeffrey Sachs and the end of dollar hegemony
Economist Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia University and advisor to governments worldwide, participated in the first day of the BRICS conference in Moscow with a direct message. “As global geopolitics shifts to a multipolar world, we need to end the residual wars of hegemonies. Multipolarity is a fact, and accepting this fact is a peaceful path to the future,” declared Sachs. The presence of an American economist advocating for a financial system outside the dollar in Moscow carries symbolism that goes beyond technical analysis.
Sachs stated that the BRICS Bank can play a central role in building a payment system independent of the dollar and that “this is working, it’s happening”. The statement reflects a growing perception among economists that the dominance of the dollar in international transactions is more a result of historical inertia than structural superiority. For the BRICS, each percentage of operations transferred from the dollar to local currencies is a step towards the financial autonomy that the institution seeks to promote.
Technological development without deepening inequalities
The official theme of the Brics meeting in Moscow was financing development in an era of technological revolution. Dilma Rousseff observed that the economic challenges faced by countries in the global south are directly related to the ability to invest in innovation and technological transformation, but warned that real development is not possible without considering emerging economies that are excluded from traditional financing circuits.
“The challenge before us is to ensure that technological progress does not deepen inequalities, but becomes a driver of inclusion, productivity, and sovereignty,” stated Dilma. The statement reflects the concern that the ongoing technological revolution, dominated by companies and capital concentrated in the United States and China, could widen the gap between developed and emerging countries if there are no accessible financing mechanisms for the global south to participate in the transformation.
The Brics Bank in numbers
The New Development Bank was created in 2015 with the aim of financing infrastructure projects and initiatives aimed at the sustainable development of emerging countries. The proposal is to strengthen a more multipolar financial architecture, based on cooperation among countries in the global south and less dependent on traditional structures dominated by the West, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Since its foundation, the institution has financed projects in areas such as energy, transport, sanitation, and technology.
The holding of the annual meeting in Moscow for the first time has geopolitical significance. Russia, under Western sanctions since 2022, finds in the Brics a space for diplomatic and economic articulation that traditional forums no longer offer. For the bank, hosting the meeting in the Russian capital is a demonstration that the institution operates according to its own logic of partnerships, regardless of the geopolitical pressures that divide the world between Western and non-Western blocs.
Moscow, Dilma, and the financial system the Brics want to build
The Brics Bank held its annual meeting for the first time in Moscow, with Dilma Rousseff warning that unilateral sanctions harm even those who impose them. With 46% of operations already outside the dollar, the institution is advancing in building an alternative financial system while economists like Jeffrey Sachs argue that multipolarity is a fact and that the Brics are essential to enable it. The meeting takes place amid trade wars, energy crises, and conflicts that test the limits of the current international system.
What do you think of the Brics strategy to operate outside the dollar? Tell us in the comments if you believe the bank can become a real alternative to the World Bank, how you evaluate Dilma Rousseff’s role in the presidency of the institution, and if unilateral sanctions really harm those who impose them. We want to hear your opinion.
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