Member states of the BRICS group of nations are discussing Iran’s initiative to integrate their national payment systems within the group’s framework, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said, commenting on Tehran’s proposal to integrate payment systems of the BRICS member countries as Russia and Iran had done with their Mir and Shetab electronic banking clearance and automated payments systems.
"Various options related to integrating financial markets of the BRICS members, payments in national currencies and new mechanisms of mutual financial settlements — including [those suggested] by Iran - are now being considered," Rudenko said.
He underscored that "creating clearance and payment infrastructure that would be independent and resilient to the pressure of sanctions" would be an important step in strengthening the financial sovereignty of BRICS.
According to the Russian diplomat, Iran’s initiative is still being discussed and "it is yet too early to speak of any final parameters."
