CAPETOWN, South Africa 

Foreign ministers from the BRICS countries on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening multilateralism at the start of their two-day meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. 

In a joint statement, they expressed concern about the use of unilateral coercive measures, which are incompatible with the principles of the UN Charter and produce negative effects notably in the developing world.

The ministers also discussed the possibility of BRICS having its own alternative currency to those currently being internationally traded.

South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told reporters at a media briefing that the ministers had been briefed by the chief executive of the New Development Bank (formerly the BRICS Development Bank) on the work the bank is doing by looking at the potential use of alternative currencies to the internationally traded currencies,” she said.

Pando noted that having alternative currencies will ensure that they do not become victim to sanctions which have a secondary effect on countries that have no involvement in issues that have led to those unilateral sanctions.

The bloc also discussed the possibility of expanding by adding new members.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that he had held discussions with a Saudi minister on the possibility of joining BRICS. More than a dozen countries have also reportedly applied to join the bloc, including Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

The ministers also recalled UN General Assembly Resolution 75/1 and reiterated calls for reforms of the General Assembly. They also recommitted to discuss reforms of the UN Security Council.