BRICS Cooperation in Reforming the International Monetaryand Financial System and Its Institutions

Given the limited scale of reforms to the international monetary and financial system (IMFS) and international financial institutions (IFIs) and constant delays in these reforms, as well as economic restrictions against Russia introduced in 2014 that led to a de facto halt in Russia’s interaction with the Bretton Woods institutions, there is a growing urgency to strengthen the interaction of the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and others) at specialized multilateral platforms, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group and, accordingly, to increase BRICS’ role in the IMFS, as reflected in the priorities of Russia’s 2024 term as BRICS chair. This article assesses the challenges and prospects for strengthening BRICS cooperation in reforming the IMFS and its institutions in the context of its membership expansion. The author reviews the dynamics of BRICS’ institutional agenda for IMFS reform and the difficulties in its implementation and analyzes the challenges and opportunities associated with the priorities of individual BRICS states on these issues to make conclusions and recommendations on further cooperation. The author concludes that reforming the IFIs is impossible without developing cooperation with partner countries in related areas, such as strengthening the role of national currencies and creating mechanisms to ensure currency liquidity, improving payment infrastructures, and so on. The interests of Russia and other BRICS countries on these issues largely coincide, but country specifics and a comparatively lower economic potential prevent some of the states that joined the BRICS in 2024, in particular, Ethiopia and Egypt, from acting fully independently in relation to their sources of external capital and financial assistance, including the IMF, the World Bank, and other financial institutions controlled by advanced economies. Based on the analysis, the author develops recommendations for further strengthening BRICS cooperation in the financial and economic domains, including currency diversification and development of payment systems, as well as the creation of their own unit of account.