NEW DELHI, January 23. /TASS/. The new US administration headed by President Donald Trump will not seek to split the BRICS group, but will keep a close eye on its development, Indian international relations expert Subhashish Banerjee told TASS.
"The modern concept of global diplomacy has moved a considerable distance from displaying muscle theory to attaining stability, and thus the sense of responsibility is presumably a prior image to be showcased rather than echoing power politics," he said. "Consider Donald Trump and the modern diplomacy of the US as a responsible global power, I don't think they will emphasize on splitting BRICS, but for obvious reasons they may plan and monitor the steps and strategies taken by BRICS," Banerjee said.
According to him, discussions about replacing the US dollar with the BRICS currency "might have triggered some kind of disbalance in understanding." "But I assume that it is absolutely temporary in nature," the expert noted.
"India has already clarified its stance on the currency matter and stated that the theory of alternate currency holds no truth, but in terms of strategic positions, India has always been very vocal about its point of view, so I presume it will not be in a swinging mode in terms of the upcoming BRICS roadmap," Banerjee pointed out.
Earlier, Trump said he would impose 100% tariffs on goods from BRICS countries if they create a new currency or abandon the dollar. After that, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar emphasized that the country "has never been a supporter of de-dollarization." According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and BRICS sherpa Sergey Ryabkov, the association is ready to explain to Trump that it is not about abandoning the dollar, but about drawing conclusions from Washington's mistaken policies.
The BRICS group was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia joined the association. Saudi Arabia has also received an invitation to join BRICS, but according to its authorities, Riyadh is still weighing the proposal. In 2024, BRICS was chaired by Russia. The key event during its presidency was the Kazan Summit on October 22-24, where it was decided to create a category of BRICS partner countries. The first countries to become partners were Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. Indonesia was also initially named as a BRICS partner, but on January 6, Brazil announced that the Asian country had been granted full member status.