Central banks of Russia, Egypt expected to discuss raising share of nat’l currencies in settlements in near future

Central banks of Russia, Egypt expected to discuss raising share of nat’l currencies in settlements in near future – Russian trade minister

MOSCOW. May 14 (Interfax) – Russia and Egypt are currently discussing expanding utilizing national currencies in cross-border settlements, with around 40% of the countries’ mutual settlements currently rendered in currencies other than the dollar and euro, Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said regarding the results of the meeting of the Russia-Egypt commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

“We discussed many issues related to settlements. We hope that there are consultations between our central banks in the near future, and we are able to increase the share of our currencies in mutual settlements and move away from dependence on the euro and the dollar,” he said.

“There is definitely movement, with about 40% of settlements already rendered in other currencies, including national currencies, though there is still work to do,” Alikhanov said.

Alikhanov earlier on Wednesday said that trade turnover between Russia and Egypt exceeded $9 billion in 2024, up nearly 32% year-on-year.