Shamkhani: Global de-dollarization move will erode West’s dominance over economy
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said a move afoot to reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar in regional and international transactions will erode the West’s dominance over the world’s economy.
Shamkhani made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Russian State Council Secretary Igor Levitin.
Tehran and Moscow, both under U.S. sanctions, have bolstered their economic relations in recent weeks and are trying to ditch the dollar from their bilateral trade. Many countries in the world, including, China and India, have also begun to settle their economic deals with other countries in their own currencies.
According to a report by the London-based website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed , Shamkhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin had extensive talks on de-dollarization of trade between the two countries during Shamkhani’s visit to Moscow earlier this year.
During his meeting with Levitin on Sunday, Shamkhani referred to the initiatives designed by the two countries in their monetary and banking relations as an effective model to foil the West’s sanctions.
Both sides also discussed the implementation of the agreements signed between the two countries in various economic fields, especially expediting the construction of the North-South transportation corridor.
Iran is seeking Russia’s financial support for the project, which is estimated to cost €800 million, according to latest estimates by the Iranian government.
Once completed, the Rasht-Astara railway will reduce the time needed to transport cargo from Helsinki, Finland via Russia to Iran’s southern ports on the Persian Gulf and on the Sea of Oman by 20 days.
Shamkhani said the completion of the North-South Corridor and the expansion of transit cooperation between Iran and Russia is an important part of the joint projects signed between the two countries. The Russian official, for his part, said Moscow is ready to invest in Iran’s various economic sectors including steel, oil and petrochemical industries.
Igor Levitin, who arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a two-day visit, also held a separate meeting with Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber.
Mokhber said that joint production and investment could turn Iran and Russia into a hub of exports of foodstuffs in the region and enable them to meet the needs of regional countries.
Levitin said Russia is ready to sign bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements with Iran to carry out various projects.
It was the fifth meeting between Mokhber and Levitin during the past six months.