Alternative to SWIFT system to make independent transactions need of the hour: Russian envoy to India

The BRICS member states are “coherently moving towards creating reliable payment mechanisms through the use of national currencies as well as the dialogue on digital currencies as priority areas. A need of the hour is to have an alternative to the SWIFT system in order to make transactions independent and uninterrupted to promote deeper integration of national financial systems,” Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov has said ahead of the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 22-24.

A mechanism of creating reliable payment mechanisms based on national currencies will be among the priorities of the BRICS Summit. India and Russia since the Ukraine conflict have been conducting business in national currencies. India has initiated a national currency payment mechanism with certain countries in SE Asia, Africa and South Asia.

Lauding India’s support for Russia’s BRICS Presidency Alipov stated, “We highly appreciate the support of our presidency in this regard. Much welcomed was the participation of Honorable Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the BRICS Parliamentary Forum in July in Saint Petersburg and other high Indian officials in various meetings. Regular involvement of NSA Ajit Doval in the BRICS high-level meetings on security matters is always critically important.”


Referring to several meetings under BRICS in the run up to the Summit, the Ambassador said, “We have conducted ministerial meetings on foreign affairs, education, environment, agriculture, sports, tourism, transport, space. Exciting and future-oriented were the newly launched Nuclear Medicine working group, Academic, Ocean and Polar Science Fora, Fire Drills, Film Festival, Sports Games.”

“We have held counter-terrorism, intellectual property and standardization, industry, customs, climate change, policy planning, nano-technologies, SMEs support, energy transition tracks, Youth Summit as well as Women, Digital, Business and Fashion fora, Cultural Festival and many others.”

Around 200 events have already taken place under the Russian presidency this year as a testimony that the expanded BRICS has succeeded. With new members, BRICS represents over 30% of the world’s land area, 45% of the population, 40% of oil production, up to 25% of export.

Pursuing the goals of sustainable economic development, BRICS is concentrating on expanding the NDB-sponsored infrastructure projects, currently exceeding USD 35 bn, according to Alipov.

“As like-minded countries, we closely coordinate on various international issues, primarily on the G20 agenda to ensure that the developing nations are getting an equal access to technological, financial and natural resources in order to remove development gaps and achieve sustainable development goals,” Alipov noted.

The Russian Ambassador was speaking at an event organsied on the BRICS Summit organised by New-Delhi based Centre for Global India Insights