Top officials from nine Asian countries, members of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), have gathered in Tehran for their annual meeting, where de-dollarization takes center stage. Alongย with the officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, Russiaโs monetaryย authority governor and officials from Belarus and Afghanistan likewise attended the meeting.
โDe-Dollarization Is Not a Voluntary Choice by Countriesโ
The two-day 51st annual Asian Clearing Union (ACU) meeting began on Tuesday in Tehran, with participation from officials representing members of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) likewise as plentyย of others. The meeting was hosted by the monetaryย authority of Iran and de-dollarization was a key topic discussed at the event, Tasnim news service reported.
The ACU asย ofย now has nine members: Bangladesh Bank, Royal Centralย Bank of Bhutan, Reserve Bank of India, Monetaryย Authority of Iran, Maldives Centralย Bank, Monetaryย Authority of Myanmar, Nepal Rastra Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, and Monetaryย Authority of Sri Lanka. Apart from the top officials of the ACU members, the governor of the Russian monetaryย authority is attending as an observer along with officials from Belarus and Afghanistan.
Commenting on the role of the Unitedย States dollar in the world economy and a growing number of countries shifting away from using the USD in trade settlement, Iranโs 1st Vice President Mohammad Mokhber stated at the meeting:
De-dollarization is not a voluntary choice by countries anymore, it is the countriesโ inevitable response to the โweaponization project of the dollar.โ
Mokhber pointedย outย that inย theย previous few decades, the โWeaponization of the dollarโ has compelled countries to distance themselves from reliance on the USD toย beย ableย to mitigate theย capacity impact of possible future sanctions.
Addressing the growing tendency of countries seeking to diminish their reliance on the Unitedย States dollar, the Iranian 1st vice president notedย that the weakening of the Unitedย States dollar poses a wholeย lotย of challenge to the United Statesโ worldwide influence. Concluding his remarks, he emphasized that the Islamic Republic is ready to strengthen its banking and trade relations with other countries, particularly ACU member states.
Iran has been ramping up its de-dollarization efforts, such as phasing out the USD in bilateral trade agreements with Russia. Earlier theseย 30ย days, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi wasย known on the monetaryย authority of Iran to ditch the Unitedย States dollar in trade and use national currencies instead. President Raisi likewise stated Iran is seeking toย participateย inย the BRICS economic bloc to counter Western hegemony and encourage a multipolar world.
The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have likewise pushed toย lower their reliance on the Unitedย States dollar. The economic group is discussing creating a common currency that is set to be discussed at its next leadersโ summit. 10 Southeast Asian countries, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), likewise recently agreed to promoteย ย the use of national currencies instead of the Unitedย States dollar.
