Belarus PM: It would be great if entire turnover were set in national currencies
Belarus has called on Russia to completely shift away from the US dollar toward both sides’ national currencies in their mutual trade. In an address to the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia on Wednesday, the Belarusian Prime Minister Andrey Kobyakov said “that would be great if the entire trade turnover, as well as price-formation were set in national currencies.”
He went on to say that increasing trade turnover to $40bn should be set as a strategic task for the two sides.
“Positive trends towards the restoration of economic growth in our countries were secured in 2017 and have been reflected in results of bilateral trade. In 2017 Belarus-Russia trade rose by 23.5 percent to $32.4bn,” he added.
Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said for his part that the substantial proportion of mutual settlements between Russia and Belarus is carried out in Russia's national currency. He said this contributes to the de-dollarization of the two sides’ economies.
Medvedev also said last year, Russia and Belarus clinched some 83 percent of their mutual trade deals in Russia's rubles. “That reflects complete trust to Russian national currency, and, what is most important - reduces dependence on external factors,” he added.
The Russian official then called for eliminating obstacles in the way of mutual access for goods and services, as well as to increase the share of high technology products and export-oriented goods.
Medvedev said that the countries will discuss the issue of joint traffic infrastructure soon.
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