Iran and Russia are determined to ditch the US dollar and use their national currencies instead, Mohammad Reza Farzin said.
Speaking to a number of Russian economic activists in St. Petersburg, the CBI governor emphasized the need for developing banking cooperation between Iran and Russia, taking advantage of the capacities of regional financial institutions, using local currencies to avoid the cruel sanctions imposed against the two countries and reducing the dominance of US dollar in financial transactions in the international arenas.
Farzin called for launching a financial institution similar to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) among the BRICS member states and emphasized that Iran is ready to provide Russia with the necessary technical facilities for Russia’s membership in the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).
The high-ranking officials of Iran and Russia are determined to use the local currencies in bilateral transactions, he said, adding that if Iran uses ruble, yuan, dirham and rial in transactions between Russia, Iran, China and other countries, a major barrier would be removed in bilateral trade.
The ACU is a good platform for ditching the US dollar in financial transactions among the member states, he said.
Currnently, India and Pakistan are members of the union, Belarus has recently raised its membership at the union, and Russia has been invited to joint the union, the CBI governor noted.