New Delhi [India], September 12 : Multimedia producer at TV BRICS Africa, Melissa Hollow, on Saturday emphasised trading in local currency and having a system of payments among BRICS nations ahead of the summit in India.
Speaking to ANI, Melissa Hollow hailed the BRICS Pay initiative, stating that the QR-based payment system will make travel easier in the Global South.
“I agree with the trading BRICS Pay. I think it would make it a lot easier for us within the Global South for us to when we are travelling, especially to be able to transact in our own currencies. But it will also empower development within our countries to be able to trade in our own currencies. It's extremely important. It becomes easier also once you travel to be able to pay in your local currency, and it empowers our local currency so that our development is fast-tracked. I think more than ever in this global trajectory, we truly need a BRICS Pay system that works for all of us within the global south,” the TV BRICS Africa producer said.
BRICS Pay is being developed as a bridge between national payment infrastructures rather than as a replacement for them. The initiative will cover customer-to-business (C2B) payments, initially aimed at travellers, as well as business-to-business (B2B) payments for international trade.
BRICS Pay CEO Andrey Mikhaylishin said that it will facilitate cross-border digital payments in local currencies by connecting the existing national payment systems of member and partner countries, allowing travellers, students and businesses to transfer money more quickly.
Describing her first visit to India, Melissa Hollow lauded the hospitality of New Delhi as she visited temples and architecture ahead of the BRICS Summit in the city.
Hollow said, “It's my first visit to India. It's a great honour to be here. I've enjoyed myself so far before the Summit could start. I did do a few tours, went to a few temples, and I was really blown away by the architecture, the structures, and the safety of New Delhi in India. It was also the people very hospitable. There's no way you can get lost in India with all the billions of people… because everyone is very friendly and open.”
Reflecting on the theme of the Summit, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability,” she added, “It is empowering to see the cooperation in action. The resilience that is being spoken about. I can see that in the Indian diaspora, but also in the Indian population here.”
Earlier, Ayanda Holo, President of TV BRICS Africa, also said that covering the BRICS Summit in India has been a "wonderful experience", while highlighting the large number of delegations and business representatives attending the summit.
Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday said BRICS as a grouping is at an "inflection point" amid shifts in the global economy, changing trade patterns, rapid technological advances and growing climate pressures, calling the developments an opportunity to shape a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South.
Addressing the Leaders' Session of the BRICS Business Forum here, Ramaphosa said countries and companies are being compelled to reconsider where they source, produce and invest as the global economic landscape undergoes significant changes.