Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio highlights Brasil's priorities in BRICS and demystifies creation of a new currency

At a press conference, BRICS Sherpa for Brasil Ambassador Maurício Lyrio explained the priorities of the Brazilian presidency of the group and debunked rumors about a common currency. The conversation precedes the BRICS Sherpa Meeting which will take place on February 25 and 26 in Brasília.

Por Leandro Molina | leandro.molina@presidencia.gov.br

The BRICS group, consisting of Brasil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has recently expanded to include six new member countries — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran — admitted in 2024-25. Together, these nations represent 48.5% of the world's population and cover 35.6% of the global territory. Economically, BRICS accounts for approximately 40% of the world's GDP based on purchasing power parity and between 28% and 29% of nominal GDP. Furthermore, the group drives more than half of global economic growth, achieving average growth rates of 3% to 5%, which surpasses the global average of 2.5% to 3%.

Maurício Lyrio emphasized that BRICS not only benefits developing countries but also plays a significant role in the global economy, positively impacting wealthy nations as well. He highlighted the group's importance to Brazilian trade, which accounts for 35% of the country's total, with a trade flow of USD 210 billion in 2023, comprising USD 121 billion in exports and USD 88.8 billion in imports. Lyrio reported that Brasil's favorable trade balance with BRICS reached USD 33 billion, representing nearly half of the country's overall trade surplus.

Priorities of the Brazilian presidency

The sherpa detailed the five priorities established by Brasil for its BRICS presidency in 2025:

Health cooperation: Brasil intends to strengthen cooperation in areas such as vaccine research and development, focusing on neglected tropical diseases and socially determined diseases that mainly affect developing countries. The BRICS Tuberculosis Research Center will be one of the pillars of this initiative.

Climate change and financing: Brasil will strive to strengthen coordination among BRICS countries to push for more resources to combat climate change, especially in light of the modest results of COP29, the UN climate conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The idea is for the group to take a joint position to COP30 in Belém do Pará, Brasil.

Trade, investment and finance: A topic of great importance is the strengthening of trade, investment and financial relations between BRICS countries. The focus will be on reducing the costs of trade and financial operations between the countries of the group, with an emphasis on the use of local currencies. We will also continue a partnership that is already underway: the BRICS Partnership for the New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), whose objective is to diversify and technologically upgrade the industrial base of the countries in the group.

Artificial intelligence governance: Brasil advocates the creation of a global framework for the governance of artificial intelligence, with the UN at the center of the discussions. The goal is to ensure that technological development is inclusive and benefits all countries, in addition to addressing challenges such as disinformation and impacts on employment.

Institutional strengthening of BRICS: With the recent expansion of the group to 11 members and the creation of a category of partners, Brasil strives to consolidate the institutional structure of BRICS, including the review of the terms of reference and the definition of rules for the rotating presidency.

Debunking the BRICS currency myth

One of the highlights of the press conference was the discussion around the possible creation of a common BRICS currency. Sherpa Mauricio Lyrio was emphatic in stating that this is currently not under discussion. "The BRICS currency is not a topic that is being discussed," he stated. Lyrio explained that the current focus is on reducing the costs of trade and financial operations between member countries, with the use of local currencies, a practice that is already common in bilateral transactions.

Lyrio highlighted that initiatives such as the cross-border payment system and mechanisms between central banks are already in operation and are priorities for the group. "What is being discussed are ways to reduce the costs of trade and financial operations between BRICS countries," he stated, ruling out any immediate progress towards a single currency.

Another central topic addressed by the Ambassador and sherpa was the issue of financing to combat climate change. Lyrio mentioned that the results of COP29 in Baku did not meet the expectations of developing countries. He recalled that the Paris Agreement provided for USD 100 billion in funding per year to help developing countries with the energy transition, but that this amount was never fully met. "Until 2023, no year has reached this commitment," he noted.

The Ambassador also highlighted that the current needs to combat climate change are in the order of USD 1.3 trillion per year, well above the amounts discussed in Baku. Therefore, according to him, Brasil will seek to coordinate a joint position among the BRICS countries to press for more resources at the next COP, in Belém.

Institutional strengthening and new members

With the recent expansion of BRICS, which grew from five to 11 members, Lyrio highlighted the importance of consolidating the group's institutional structure. The Ambassador explained that the entry of new members brings challenges, such as defining the order of the rotating presidency and reviewing the terms of reference. "There are challenges from an institutional point of view that need to be resolved," he said.

The ambassador also mentioned the need to integrate new members into existing financial mechanisms, such as the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. However, he stressed that participation in the NDB follows its own logic, based on the capital and votes of each country, and is not directly linked to joining BRICS.

At the end of the press conference, Mauricio Lyrio reinforced that Brasil has an ambitious agenda for its presidency of BRICS, and that the group is focused on practical initiatives to reduce costs and increase efficiency in trade and financial transactions. He concluded by reiterating that, with the expansion of BRICS and global challenges in areas such as climate and technology, the group is consolidating itself as an increasingly relevant actor on the international scene, with Brasil playing a central role in this process.