NEW YORK, August 22. /TASS/. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) come up with the idea of gradually abandoning the dollar in international payments in favor of national currencies, which will be the subject of discussion at the summit in Johannesburg, Vice President of South Africa Paul Mashatile said.

"Today the world takes notice of this bloc because it[reducing dependence on the dollar]is at the forefront of the global discourse," Mashatile said as quoted by Bloomberg.

The BRICS leaders will focus on ways to reduce reliance on the dollar during the meeting, which begins on Tuesday, the Vice President said.

As Mashatile stressed, BRICS is not trying to compete with the West, but wants to find its place on the global market. The BRICS countries hope to reduce their dependence on the dollar in favor of settlements in national currencies, and in the future to launch a common currency instead of the dollar, Bloomberg noted.

South Africa chairs the BRICS this year. Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told TASS that the BRICS member countries will discuss the topic of "common units of account" at the summit in Johannesburg, which takes place from August 22 to 24. It is expected that the participants of the bloc can make an official statement about the creation of a new currency. Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the summit via video link. The Russian side will be represented in person by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.