Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly has called for stronger central bank cooperation and local currency use between BRICS members, hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on countries aligning with the bloc’s “anti-American policies.”

BRICS was formed in 2009 and is widely seen as an alternative to Western hegemony. Its original members were Brazil, China, India and Russia before South Africa joined the bloc in December 2010. Last year, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Ethiopia joined the bloc. More than 30 other countries have expressed interest in joining the group or working with it as a partner nation.

Speaking at the 17th BRICS Summit in Brazil on Sunday, Madbouly said that due to the global decline in multilateralism and crises engulfing the world, members of the bloc of developing nations should bolster their financial and economic ties.

"We must enhance cooperation between the central banks of the BRICS countries and advance our efforts in enabling financial settlements in local currencies, in line with the BRICS cross-border payments initiative," Madbouly said at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, which ends late Monday.