As India braces up for the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who arrived to attend the Summit has a special appeal to make
- a common currency towards de-dollarisation. Iranian President has called for greater efforts to reduce dependence on the US dollar as the grouping looks to strengthen trade and financial cooperation among member countries. President Pezeshkian has called for greater use of the BRICS financial architecture to reduce countries’ dependence on the US dollar. The Iranian President has put the issue of de-dollarisation in focus ahead of the BRICS Summit. For Tehran, the push assumes greater importance because of the extensive US sanctions imposed on Iran and the wider disruption caused by the US-Iran conflict. According to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), ahead of leaving for India for the BRICS Summit, Pezeshkian said the BRICS development bank was created to help countries move away from reliance on the dollar and counter what he described as US efforts to maintain financial dominance. US President Donald Trump has been sharply critical of any BRICS efforts to get around the U.S.-led financial system, which gives the U.S. extraordinary leverage over other countries through sanctions and other similar measures. "Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff,” he wrote on Truth Social last July, adding that there “will be no exceptions to this policy.”
What It Could Mean For Oil
For oil-importing countries like India, use of local currencies could potentially reduce exposure to dollar volatility. Additional FX demand created when crude prices spike, and this could make energy payments more resilient, although it would not necessarily translate into lower global crude prices.
Continuous spike in the crude oil prices put pressure on the Indian rupee as the refiners need US Dollars to pay for imports.
India's central bank - RBI was intervening as the rupee came under pressure amid Brent crude approaching $110 a barrel.
Vaibhav Maloo, Managing Director of Enso Group and President of Enso Foundation said, “India should use its BRICS presidency to secure faster export payments, fewer certification hurdles and financed infrastructure projects. India’s exports to BRICS were estimated at $82 billion in goods in FY2025–26 and $31.3 billion in services in calendar 2024, giving market access immediate commercial relevance."
India's push for digital currency:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended to the government that a proposal to connect Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) be included in the agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit. If the recommendation is adopted BRICS will move forward with a proposal to link the digital currencies of BRICS members for the first time.
RBI has explored linking central banks’ digital currencies, including the e-rupee, e-CNY, digital ruble and Brazil’s Drex, and connecting fast payment systems such as India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix.
The proposed system would allow transactions to be settled directly in national currencies. Using distributed-ledger and smart-contract-style technology, payments could potentially be processed almost instantly between participants.
