Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday gave a call to BRICS nations to increase their efforts toward expanding the scope of trading in local currencies.
He also laid emphasis on developing cooperation among financial institutions of BRICS states.
"We will contribute to the further comprehensive implementation of the BRICS economic partnership strategy until 2025 and the development of new long-term guidelines," the Russian leader stated in his virtual address to the participants of BRICS in Johannesburg.
"Among them, we see a need in increasing the role of our states in the international monetary and financial system, the development of interbank cooperation, the expansion of the use of national currencies and the deepening of cooperation between tax, customs, and anti-monopoly authorities," he added.
Also, Putin asked Moscow's partners in BRICS to set up a permanent transport commission to overcome the issue of the lack of transport corridors for trade purposes.
According to him, this will result in the fructification of a North-South corridor which will eventually lead to the creation of transport and logistics hubs along the route.
"An important priority for the BRICS interaction is the creation of new sustainable and safe transport routes. We believe that the time has come to establish a permanent transport commission within the framework of BRICS, which would deal not only with the North-South project but also on a broader scale, with the development of logistics and transport corridors," Putin noted.
His comments focusing on the improvement of economic ties among BRICS countries come at a time when Moscow alongside other friendly nations, has escalated its de-dollarization efforts in the wake of Western sanctions on Russia following the launch of its military operation in Ukraine which began last February.
De-dollarization an Irreversible Trend
Interestingly, Russia's time-tested friend India is also making a major push against the American dollar's hegemony in global trade. In this light, both Russia and India have started trading in national currencies with each other.
Plus, the South Asian giant has also signed agreements with the UAE, Bangladesh, and Malaysia amongst others in this regard.
Earlier on Tuesday, Putin pointed out that de-dollarization had become an "irreversible trend" amongst BRICS economies.
"A balanced, irreversible process of de-dollarization of our economic ties is gaining steam, with efforts undertaken to develop efficient mechanisms of mutual settlements, as well as monetary and financing control. As a result, the share of the dollar in export and import transactions within BRICS is declining as it only equaled 28.7% last year," he said in a video message to BRICS Business Forum.