Eastern European nation Belarus is advancing the de-dollarization agenda with Uzbekistan and has formed a proposal to settle mutual trade in local currencies. Roman Golovchenko, the National Bank Chairman of Belarus, said in a press conference that “all conditions exist” in financial co-operation between the two countries. The Chairman revealed that Belarus is opening many Nostro accounts to make it easier for exporters in Uzbekistan to pay in national currencies.
While a large portion of payments are settled in the US dollar, the new agreement would allow payments in local currencies. Belarus has long been eyeing de-dollarization as a way to strengthen its national currency. Trade between the two countries is expected to reach $2 billion by the end of 2026. The numbers have doubled this year, as the trade turnover in 2025 stood at $1 billion. The development highlights the growing cross-border transactions between the two nations.
“The task has been set to bring trade turnover to $2 billion by the end of the year,” said Golovchenko. “It currently stands at more than $1 billion; last year it was just short of $1 billion. The second priority is the expansion of industrial cooperation between entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan and Belarus.” This shows that the two are serious about de-dollarization, as settlements in local currencies can go beyond $1 billion. This makes their respective GDP’s stronger, and also gives their currencies a boost in the forex markets.
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De-Dollarization: Belarus Plans Local Currency Settlements With Uzbekistan
Several developing countries are looking forward to adopting the de-dollarization agenda for the benefit of their local currencies. The US national debt breaching the $40 trillion mark is also a cause of concern. “On our side, we are satisfied with the financial and banking cooperation with the Republic of Uzbekistan. We have no problems, despite all the difficulties with servicing foreign-economic transactions and conducting settlement operations. Our banks maintain correspondent relations with a large number of Uzbekistani banks. Several dozen mutual Loro and Nostro accounts have been opened. So everything is in order here as well,” Golovchenko summed it up.
