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EAEU and BRICS to address creating universal payment system and independent global institutions
Work can be organized in the context of interaction between the Eurasian Economic Union and BRICS to combine payment and settlement infrastructures. This was stated by Vladimir Kovalev, Adviser to the Chairman of the EEC Board, at the plenary session "New Models of Cooperation between the BRICS and EAEU Countries as an Alternative to Old Economic Paradigms" during the BRICS International Business Forum held on November 28 in Moscow.
“The global financial system is changing. The significant potential of cooperation between the EAEU and BRICS indicates the possibility of forming a new unit of account based on the two associations' currency baskets. It may be interesting and profitable to create a universal payment system involving the issuance of a common payment card (BRICS + EAEU), uniting the national systems of China (Union Pay), India (RuPay), Brazil (Elo), the EAEU Member States (MIR, Belkart, etc.),” Vladimir Kovalev noted.
Trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and BRICS is actively gaining momentum. According to estimates in H1 of 2022 alone, the EAEU States' exports to the BRICS countries increased by half, and the BRICS share in the EAEU total external trade turnover reached about 30%.
The Eurasian Economic Commission sees the prospect in creating independent global institutions whose activities will extend to the common space of the BRICS and the EAEU. As Vladimir Kovalev noted, “it is expedient to combine the potentials of the BRICS and EAEU macro-financial development institutions, in particular the BRICS New Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the EDB, as well as national development institutions. This will enable achieving a synergistic effect and ensuring synchronous investments in sustainable infrastructure, innovative manufacturing methods, and renewable energy sources”.
Today, a pragmatic approach is also in demand to create a universal rating mechanism in the EAEU and BRICS, the assessments of which would not be subject to market-determined risks and could become fundamental when making investment decisions throughout this global space.
“We can use the experience of already well-established platforms, for example, the Chinese agencies Dagong and Chengxin Credit. There is a positive practice in the EAEU, for example, the Russian Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA), which successfully operates in the Union markets. The issue of establishing the Eurasian rating agency is discussed at the Union's venue,” the Adviser to the Chairman of the EEC Board shared his opinion.
The convergence of the EAEU and BRICS economies is the practical basis for forming the Greater Eurasian Partnership as an equal and open format of international cooperation. During the Forum's plenary session, its attendees announced the initiative to prepare a common strategy for the EAEU and BRICS actions by involving business circles and the expert community in this work.
