NEW-YORK, August 14. /TASS/. The BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are not seeking de-dollarization, South Africa’s Sherpa in BRICS Anil Sooklal said as Bloomberg reports.

"Trading in local currencies is firmly on the agenda. There is no agenda item of de-dollarization on the BRICS agenda. BRICS is not calling for de-dollarization. The dollar will continue to be a major global currency - that’s a reality," Sooklal said as quoted by the agency.

According to Sooklal, BRICS is striving to protect the interests of Global South, "to build a more inclusive, representative, just, fair global architecture."

"I think there is a general consensus that BRICS has to expand. We have worked out some rules of procedure and criteria," he said.

Earlier, South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that the New Development Bank (NDB) created by BRICS should increase capitalization and provide loans in the national currencies of the countries of the association:

"Most countries that are members of the NDB have been encouraging (it) to provide loans in local currencies," Godongwana said.

According to the minister, boosting local currency usage among the NDB's members will also be on the agenda of the upcoming BRICS summit.

As to NDB CFO Leslie Maasdorp said, the share of loans in the local currencies can grow from 22% to 30% by 2026.

The group's summit will be held in Johannesburg on August 22-24. It will be the largest meeting of heads of state and government of the Global South in recent years. The invitees included the leaders of 54 African countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in an online format. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Johannesburg to represent Russia at the summit in person.