‘Bangladesh wants to be part of BRICS to diversify relations'
Bangladesh's Premier Sheikh Hasina has said that Bangladesh wants to be a part of the BRICS coalition, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Sheikh Hasina said that a discussion in this regard was held with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Geneva (South Africa currently holds the BRICS presidency) previous week.
'We were with BRICS from the time of its formation. Now we officially want to be its member as our plan is to have diverse options when it comes to development and bilateral relations. We don't want to depend on just one or two options for the overall growth of our country.'
The prime minister made the remark while addressing the press about the outcome of her recent visits to Switzerland and Qatar on Wednesday (21 June).
Emphasising the need for trade in local currencies to reduce dependency on dollar, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh is open to alternative currencies and financial institutions.
'We are already working to introduce trade transactions in local currencies to ease pressure on dollar holdings,' Hasina said adding that details on this will be revealed once everything is finalised.
The premier stressed the importance of establishing a foreign policy based on peace and said her government is working to establish bilateral ties with both the East and the West.
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