The world economy managed to avoid “hard landing”. This opinion was expressed in an interview with RIA Novosti the head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina.
“There is a slowdown in the growth rate of the global economy. But still it was possible to avoid” hard landing. “And its probability this year was a little less than it was last year,” the head of the Central Bank said.
According to Nabiullina, many expect a decrease in key rates by leading central banks, which will support world economic growth.
Speaking of the share of the BRICS countries in the trade balance of the Russian Federation, the head of the Central Bank said that it has become much more and now it is about 40%. “In 2022, there were less than 30%, and in 2021 – about 20%. Trade with the BRICS countries for our last year also increased by about 15% – this is a significant factor in the development of our economy,” Nabiullina noted.
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Touching upon the creation of a single currency, the head of the Central Bank said that such an initiative periodically arises. “But, firstly, not all countries of BRICS share it, and secondly, it is very difficult to design and implementation. Therefore, of course, for a start, it requires a very thorough study,” she said.
According to the head of the Central Bank, the main for the calculations of Russia with the countries of the association are national currencies, including the ruble.
“their share now in trade with BRICS is about 85 percent, two years ago it was 26 percent,” she added.
Assessing the prospects of BRICS in the global economy, the head of the Central Bank said that the economies of the countries of the association are developing quickly enough. “With the accession of new members, the share of BRICS in the global economy increased from 31% to 35%, if you look at the results of 2023 by parity of purchasing power. And these figures are slightly higher than the share of the Big Seven countries. So the role of BRICS in the world is significant “, She said.
Speaking about the tools that the BRICS countries work on to ensure SWIFT, Nabiullina recalled that Russia has its own financial message transmission system, which is an alternative to SWIFT.
“and already 159 foreign participants from 20 countries have joined. Some other countries have a similar infrastructure. We are discussing the interaction of such platforms, but the interest and technical readiness of our partners are important here,” she outlined.