On 11 August 2023, the Expert Group on implementing the SCO roadmap for gradually increasing the share of national currencies in mutual settlements held a regular videoconference, chaired by Kazakhstan. Representatives of finance ministries, national (central) banks, development banks and financial organisations of the interested member states, and representatives of the SCO Secretariat attended the meeting.
It was the first time representatives of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran joined the Expert Group. They shared Iran’s experience with the Asian Clearing Union, an international banking association with a headquarters in Tehran, founded to facilitate regional cooperation in acceptable monetary transactions and operation of clearing systems.
During the meeting, the experts also discussed the current progress in implementing the roadmap, specifically, with respect to analysing national legislation on monetary regulation and the status of mutual settlements in national currencies, as well as developing joint approaches to developing payment and clearing systems for mutual trade.
The roadmap for gradually increasing the share of national currencies in mutual settlements was approved by the SCO Heads of State Council in September 2022 in Samarkand. The document is aimed at creating conditions for the system’s functioning and boosting transactions in national currencies between SCO member states.
The Asian Clearing Union was founded in 1974 at the initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The union has nine members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.