GOMEL, 17 May (BelTA) – The share of national currency transactions in Belarus-Russia trade is close to 80%, BelTA learned from Governor of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina after the 50th session of the Interbank Currency Council of the central banks of Belarus and Russia on 17 May.
The official noted that participants of the session had paid close attention to the promotion of transactions in the national currencies. “It is very important. The share is on the rise. About 80% of our foreign trade relies on the national currencies,” Elvira Nabiullina pointed out. Today the sides analyzed the sectors where hindrances linger in order to remove them. The sides also shared their experience of investment banking.
Elvira Nabiullina also said that such sessions focus heavily on the development of financial markets, primarily banking. “It is particularly of current interest because we work together on the concept of development of the common financial market of the Eurasian Economic Union not only in the bilateral format, but in the format of five countries,” she added. Regulatory frameworks and oversight systems differ from country to country. This is why the countries put efforts into harmonization, into borrowing each other's best practices.
Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) Pavel Kallaur explained that matters able to advance joint integration, facilitate capital penetration, and matters relating to investment banking were also in focus. He stressed that the experience of Russia's central bank with regard to the transition to inflation targeting, efforts to ensure macroeconomic stability, and the overall stable long-term economic growth was interesting for the central bank of Belarus.
A solemn session was also held on 17 May. Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas, the former governor of the Central Bank of Russia Sergei Ignatyev, and other people took part in it.
Speaking during the solemn session, Pavel Kallaur noted that over 300 items on the agenda have been discussed since the Interbank Currency Council was founded. “For 20 years we've been getting together to discuss the most acute and topical matters relating to banking and finance in Belarus and Russia. We've never been unable to reach a compromise, make a decision that fails to take into account interests of all parties,” the official said. Pavel Kallaur also said he was confident that cooperation between the central banks of Belarus and Russia will go hand in hand with mutual understanding while the Interbank Currency Council will continue helping to tackle various financial and banking tasks for the benefit of the two economies.
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.
