Sat Jul 05 17:35:18 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:

**BRICS Summit in Rio Focuses on Terrorism, Local Currency Trade, and Global South Collaboration**

**Rio de Janeiro, July 5, 2025** – Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Rio de Janeiro early Sunday morning to participate in the BRICS summit, alongside leaders from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, and newly inducted members Egypt, Ethiopia, UAE, Iran, and Indonesia. The summit (July 6-7) is expected to address critical issues, including terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, climate change financing, artificial intelligence regulation, and socially-determined diseases.

While the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping raises questions, the summit aims to solidify BRICS as a platform for converging interests, particularly for the Global South. A key focus will be on crafting a Leaders’ Joint Statement addressing security concerns and potential UN Security Council reforms, amid differing opinions among the expanded membership.

Addressing concerns about de-dollarization, Brazil’s Ambassador to India, Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, clarified that BRICS is not planning to create an alternate currency. Instead, the grouping is exploring voluntary adoption of local currencies for trade among member nations, similar to practices within MERCOSUR. Da Nobrega emphasized that this is not a move against the U.S. dollar.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of high tariffs if BRICS moves toward de-dollarization, Brazilian Ambassador Nobrega stated, “To speak of a BRICS currency… that is something that does not exist, and we are not envisioning creating a BRICS currency in the foreseeable future.”

The summit is also expected to address the recent Pahalgam terror attack, with leaders anticipated to issue a strong condemnation of terrorism.

Regarding the expansion of BRICS, Ambassador Nobrega noted that BRICS focuses on what unites the diverse countries, and it is this diversity and consensus-building ability that led to notable results like the establishment of the New Development Bank.

Following the BRICS summit, Prime Minister Modi will meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a state visit focused on boosting bilateral ties in defense, agriculture, energy, and pharmaceuticals, building on a significant increase in trade and bilateral engagement between India and Brazil in recent years. The focus of that trip will be on strengthening defense cooperation, agricultural research, and digital partnership in artificial intelligence.

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