GOMEL, 17 May (BelTA) – Joint work of the central banks of Belarus and Russia has allowed greatly unifying principles of monetary and foreign exchange regulations. Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas drew attention to the fact during the solemn session of the Interbank Currency Council of the central banks of Belarus and Russia on 17 May, BelTA has learned.
The prime minister noted that over the course of 20 years the sessions have become an important venue for a constructive dialogue, for exchanging opinions, discussing topical aspects concerning the state of the banking systems and the implementation of the monetary management policies in Belarus and Russia. Cooperation of the central banks has allowed unifying principles of monetary and foreign exchange regulations to a considerable degree in addition to weighing approaches to minimizing external risks to financial stability, Sergei Rumas said.
Sergei Rumas noted that work has been in progress in Belarus for the last few years to liberalize forex regulations and reduce U.S. dollar usage in the economy. “These measures are designed to bolster trust in our national currency and improve the resilience of the monetary management system, increase the investment appeal of the financial and banking sectors, and achieve a brand new level of economic development in the end,” the prime minister added.
Sergei Rumas stressed that Belarus is interested in strategic partnership and is open to resolving urgent issues in financial and monetary spheres, including the stock market and the insurance market.
The prime minister said he was confident that the council's future work would also contribute to tighter cooperation between the central banks of Belarus and Russia, making a tangible contribution to further successful advancement and expansion of bilateral cooperation.
The 50th session of the Interbank Currency Council of the central banks of Belarus and Russia took place in Gomel. Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) Pavel Kallaur, Governor of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina, other representatives of the central banks of the two countries took part in it.
The Interbank Currency Council of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation was established in November 1999. The main tasks of the council are to prepare intergovernmental agreements on banking activities, to harmonize the regulatory frameworks of the financial and banking sectors in order to enable equal conditions for commercial entities of the two countries, and also prepare recommendations on the development and implementation of the coordinated monetary management policy and the foreign exchange policy.
