World’s Largest Regional Organization to Switch to Settlements in National Currencies

A China-led regional organization that covers more than half of Eurasia intends to transition to settlements in the currencies of its members. While the plan is to abandon the U.S. dollar in mutual payments, participating nations are yet to consider a common currency.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is preparing to move away from the U.S. dollar and switch to settlements in the national currencies of its member states. In an interview with the Belarus 1 state TV channel, the bloc’s Deputy Secretary General Grigory Logvinov stated:

A roadmap for the transition to settlements in national currencies is being developed.

Also quoted by the Interfax news agency, the Russian diplomat emphasized that efforts in that direction are “serious and substantive.”

“The process is far from simple because, unfortunately, the dollar as a world reserve currency is too deeply embedded, including in national currency systems,” Logvinov remarked. To completely abandon the dollar, “there is still a lot to be done and quite a long way to go,” he elaborated.

The SCO, which was established in Shanghai in 2001 as a political, economic, and defense alliance, is the world’s largest regional organization, covering approximately 60% of the territory of Eurasia as well as 40% of the planet’s population.

China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan hold full membership at the moment while over a dozen other countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, are among its observers and partners.

Despite the planned departure from dollar settlements, the introduction of a single currency is not yet being considered by SCO members, Grigory Logvinov noted. “As for the introduction of some kind of single SCO currency, this is not yet the case, and such a goal has not yet been set,” he explained.

Meanwhile, reports have unveiled that the BRICS group of leading emerging economies, of which China, Russia and India are also members, is working to create a new currency for cross-border payments, with intentions to discuss its development at the BRICS leaders’ summit in August. The prospect of a BRICS currency has fueled concerns in the U.S. about eroding the dollar’s dominance.

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