Recent revelations from Tanzania's ambassador to Russia, Andrey Avetisyan, indicate that the two countries are actively working to increase bilateral trade by using their national currencies for transactions. Banks from both nations have already begun working out the kinks. Russia has been on a mission to ensure that it can trade in Africa without depending on the dollar.
Andrey Avetisyan, told the Russian newspaper, Sputnik that the shift to trading in national currencies including the currencies of China, India, and other BRICS nations is under discussion.
"The prospects of transition to trade in national currencies are being discussed between our banks," the ambassador stated on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club conference in Tanzania on Wednesday.
"If Tanzanians see that Russia's trade with China and India is almost entirely in national currencies, and India and China are Tanzania's largest trading partners, then there are opportunities here. Indian rupees, Chinese yuan and Russian rubles, I think, can be used by Tanzanians for offset schemes," he added.
The Russian ambassador talked about the possibility of payments in other BRICS currencies. He explained that the UAE, as a key partner of Tanzania, may also incorporate its currency, allowing the dirham, rupiah, yuan, and ruble to be mutually traded and complimented.
The Valdai Discussion Club's second Russian-African conference in Dar es Salaam brings together over 40 specialists from Russia and East Africa to explore the paradigm of Moscow's relationship with the continent's states, one year after the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg.
The program's organizers believe that the discussions' conclusions will serve as the foundation for the expert preparation of the third summit, which will also take place in an African nation.
In March, 2023, Tanzania and India reached an agreement that scrapped the use of the US dollar for trade between the two nations.
Russia's trade with Africa
In March 2024,, it was reported that the use of currencies outside of the dollar for international trade was quickly catching on. Russia, and organizations like the BRICS group of nations, particularly in partnership with African countries, has been at the forefront of this movement.
A report by Sputnik Africa showed that the use of the Russian currency for trade between Russia and Africa has more than doubled since 2022.
This information is according to the Central Bank of Russia which disclosed that the percentage in rubles of Russian-African settlements doubled in 2023 compared to the year prior.
In 2022, the percentage of Russia-African commerce handled in rubles was 21.9%, but in 2023 it was doubled to 48.1%.
According to data, the proportion of payments made in unfriendly currencies (such as the US dollar, euro, and others) has decreased substantially from 45.1% to 20.5%.
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