Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati made the proposal on Thursday, the second day of the BRICS financial meetings in India, stressing the need to move financial cooperation within the group beyond general discussions and toward the creation of practical, secure and sustainable infrastructure for cross-border payments and settlements.

Hemmati said connecting national payment networks and expanding the use of national currencies would reduce BRICS members’ reliance on financial channels outside the bloc while helping increase transaction speed, lower costs and improve the security of trade exchanges among member states.

He added that Iran has already begun examining the technical, legal and operational aspects of connecting the payment systems of BRICS members and is ready to cooperate in developing an operational roadmap for the initiative.

The Central Bank governor also said that pursuing Iran’s membership in the New Development Bank (NDB) would help expand financing for development projects, investment cooperation and economic ties among BRICS members.

MNA