In an interview with Sputnik on the sidelines of events commemorating the signing of an MOU between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the renowned Russian economist Sergey Glazyev discussed the global trend towards de-dollarization and his thinking about the creation of a new global currency. Glazyev is Russia’s Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the EAEU’s Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).
What is already underway, Glazyev said, is the transition to the widespread use of national currencies. “This is an imperative for us; we can no longer trade in Western currencies. But it takes time for our partners to fully appreciate the benefits and importance of a transition to national currencies.” Russia is offering ASEAN and other countries the use of Russia’s alternative to the SWIFT bank communications system for handling international transactions, as well as “Russian insurance, including a reinsurance company created in the Eurasian Union, as the reliability of our insurance is no worse than that of Lloyd’s.”
Such national currency arrangements should also be used for “joint investments [which] also require a revision of state monetary policies, and the expansion of lending instruments in rubles,” he added.
Glazyev said he would like to “see more activity on the part of EEC central banks, because in the absence of such systematic work of central banks to switch to settlements in national currencies, it is impossible to accumulate the aforesaid currencies, which need to be exchanged and sold.” Much of this trade today occurs using the Chinese yuan.
