BRICS nations are advancing their cooperation to support new financial mechanisms. Efforts are growing to promote trade in local currencies, deploy digital currencies, and reduce dependency on specific currencies. The bloc is also working to streamline investment facilitation to attract and protect cross-border capital flows. These initiatives aim to strengthen economic sovereignty and foster a more balanced global financial order. - What are the challenges in implementing local currency trade across BRICS economies? - How can BRICS nations harmonize investment facilitation policies to boost mutual FDI? - What role could new financial mechanisms play in reshaping the global monetary system? - Can the BRICS create an investment facilitation mechanism like the International Finance Corporation (IFC)? Connecting the Dots: Infrastructure and the SDGs Recent pressures on trade routes caused by conflict and the steady growth of trade have forced governments to rethink many policy imperatives like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), investment in connectivity and infrastructure, and securing essential supply chains. With development on the back burner, we can expect another shifted goal post. In addition, increasing debt burdens on the global south to meet the SDG goals have exposed developing countries to political and economic risks. For instance, global food shortages and supply chain disruptions have wreaked havoc on this SDG goal. How countries mobilize finance and ensure that new ports, roads, and transport infrastructure is energy efficient and enables supply chain resilience for the delivery of SDGs is an important element of this conversation: - How can SDG financing be better streamlined to meet local needs? - What is the scope for an expanded BRICS to strengthen the connectivity across its member states? - How can platforms such as the BRICS Global Logistics Platform Office be operationalized? - What are the ways in which the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty can be further operationalized through the BRICS. - What are the new modalities of climate financing – for adaptation and mitigation that need to be discussed? What are the learnings from the BRICS Leader’s Framework Declaration on Climate Finance