Business news

MINSK, 8 June (BelTA) - Belarus and Russia should set prices in contracts in national currencies rather than US dollar, Chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich said at the plenary meeting of the 3rd Belarus-Russia Forum of Regions on 8 June, BelTA has learned.

“We are engaged in active debates regarding the de-dollarization of mutual settlements. Still when concluding contracts at the interstate level we tie prices to the leading world currency. As an important step towards the de-dollarization of mutual settlements it seems obvious that we should start setting prices in contracts in national currencies, both at the level of governments and also state-owned companies,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.

Mikhail Myasnikovich also pointed out that the increasing volatility of the financial markets requires more coordinated efforts on the part of Belarus and Russia in the monetary policy. “I am talking about the development of the system to ensure the financial stability in the Union State and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). I would like to note that to date the matter has not been addressed properly in the regulatory framework of the Eurasian Economic Union,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.

Another important point, according to Mikhail Myasnikovich, is the response of cross-border capital to economic shocks. “Given the scale of the economies of Belarus and Russia, the outflow of Russian capital is very painful for our country. Here we can draw on the experience of the Vienna initiatives when banks with head offices in Western Europe had agreed to stay in the countries of Central, Eastern and southern Europe and capitalized their subsidiaries and branches in the regions of Eastern Europe,” he said.

The Chairman of the Council of the Republic proposed to conclude a similar agreement on the basis of the Union State and the Eurasian Economic Union. This will create the conditions for a common financial market.