- Sputnik India, 1920
G-20 Summit in New Delhi
The G-20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, set to be held from September 9 to 10, will be the culmination of India's G-20 presidency. As the host of the G-20 meet-up, India has withstood Western pressure on the issue of the Ukraine conflict and has refused to join the sanctions war against Russia.

Russia, India Searching For 'Alternative' to SWIFT Banking System: Lavrov

© AP Photo / Evan VucciIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov - Sputnik India, 1920, 10.09.2023
Subscribe
Exclusive
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks came during a press conference following the conclusion of the G20 summit in New Delhi under India's presidency.
Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov on Sunday stated that Russia and India are working out ways to create additional payment platforms and boost trade in national currencies.
In his media briefing, Lavrov praised the New Delhi Declaration adopted in the Indian capital, stating that it was a "fair document".

"The summit is an unconditional success, for the Indian presidency, and for all of us. The G20 is undergoing internal reform. This was reflected in the significant activation of G20 members representing the Global South", Lavrov noted.

Besides commending India's leadership of the G20, Russian Foreign Minister also spoke about Moscow's growing economic ties with New Delhi, and whether the two nations were making efforts to come up with an alternative mechanism to the SWIFT financial system.
Developing an alternative to the SWIFT banking network is crucial for the Eurasian nation, given that the US, which controls the system, banned Russian banks from accessing it last year in the wake of the country's special military operation in Ukraine.
Since then, Russian banks have struggled to make international transactions, largely relying on bilateral agreements with partner countries like India to trade in national currencies, which in the case of New Delhi and Moscow has been rupee-rouble trade.
Sputnik India: What role do you think India has been playing in the global de-dollarisation process, which has become one of the central trends in an increasingly multipolar world? Additionally, would Russia consider using India's UPI system as an alternative to SWIFT?
Sergey Lavrov: With respect to de-dollarisation, there is some progress, including in our bilateral relations with India. Like I said before, our exporters have a lot of, massive amounts of rupees in their accounts in Indian banks, and now we are looking into the possible ways of investing them in a mutually beneficial way.
Now, as for actual transactions, we are working as part of the BRICS group, and, back in Johannesburg, a decision was made to look into ways of expanding the use of national currencies in operations.
We looked into the ways of the possibility of creating additional payment platforms, because right now we only have platforms controlled by the West. In fact, with China, for example, we have financial operations, 70 or 80 per cent of them are in rubles and renminbi, and the same goes for India.
When the global community sees what's happening with SWIFT, how the West and the United States are using it as their own instrument, they understand that there has to be an alternative.
In fact, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proposed a mechanism like that within the CELAC, within South America.
Sputnik India: Have you had any bilaterals on the side-lines of the G20 summit with the Americans, for instance?
Sergey Lavrov: As for bilateral contacts here on the side-lines of the forum, no, I haven't had any, because everyone understands what the Americans want from Russia. They want to get rid of a competitor. They want to strategically defeat us, as they put it. If they had anything new in mind, they would have liked to tell us that.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) - Sputnik India, 1920, 10.09.2023
G-20 Summit in New Delhi
New Delhi Wants UPI as Global Standard For Universal Payment Systems: Digital India CEO
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала