The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, urged India’s national security advisor, Ajit Doval, to boost the use of local currencies in bilateral trade between the two countries during a meeting in Tehran on 1 May.
Shamkhani emphasized the importance of “activating the Rial-Rupee mechanism,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
According to Shamkhani, launching a “financial transaction system” using Indian and Iranian currencies would be “a major step towards the fulfillment of common purposes in the economic field [between Tehran and New Delhi].”
He also highlighted the “strategic independence” of both nations, and “the civilizational, historical and cultural commonalities between” them, adding that “relations between Iran and India are not against any other country and not influenced by the will of the third parties either.”
The two officials also discussed opportunities for cooperation in energy, transportation, technology, and finance between Iran and India and the role of both countries in the Chinese-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a political, economic, security, and defense alliance between Eurasian states.
The Islamic Republic is set to become a full-fledged member of the SCO this week at the upcoming summit in India.
Iran’s aspiration to join the BRICS+ group of emerging economies was also discussed. Iranian-Indian cooperation in the context of these two organizations will “fulfill” the national interests of both countries, Shamkhani said.
“Independent states [need] to realize the characteristics of new global developments and strengthen their domestic capabilities to promote regional cooperation and play a more active international role,” the Indian official told Shamkhani.
The Indian national security advisor also met with Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Last year, Iran began facilitating the flow of Russian goods into India through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Over the past year, Tehran has been working to build political and economic alliances with several West Asian, Eurasian, Central Asian, and Latin American countries.
As part of these efforts, Iran and Russia integrated their banking systems to circumvent western sanctions and strengthen bilateral trade.
Iran will also soon launch a new trade route with Brazil and continues to engage in comprehensive energy cooperation with Venezuela. Saudi Arabia is also set to establish a trade office with Iran soon as part of a new alliance formed with the help of China.
Dozens of countries have recently expressed interest in conducting trade in their national currencies as part of a growing trend of de-dollarization to avoid Washington’s policy of economic coercion.