?

BRASILIA - BRICS has become "more powerful, stronger and more important" since it was announced last week that more countries were joining the bloc of emerging economies, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday.

In his regular weekly broadcast, Conversation with the President, Lula took stock of the bloc's leaders' summit held in the South African city of Johannesburg.

"I think the world will no longer be the same after the enlargement of the BRICS, at least in economic discussions," he said. The bloc can launch a common currency to ease trade between members because "we don't need to continue trading with the dollar," Lula said.

"We can negotiate with our currencies without problem. We have to do it and approve the finance ministers discussing it throughout the year to see if, when we get to the next summit, we can establish a reference currency for exports," he said.

The initiative is not against the dollar but rather serves to bolster Brazil's economy, said Lula. "It benefits Brazil, Brazilian trade, the real."

At the summit, BRICS that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa announced the start of an expansion process that will see several countries join the bloc in January 2024, including Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran.