The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum included a discussion of Russia’s financial sovereignty as a key condition for further economic development and ensuring the financial system’s resilience to external factors.
Yaroslav Bogdanov, founder of GDA Group, taking part in SPIEF-2024, called risk-free external financial operations a key to success in the realization of the tasks facing the state.
“Protecting foreign economic activity from sanctions pressure is a priority. This applies both to Russia itself and its partners who find themselves under the threat of secondary sanctions. Partner states are forced to take measures to secure their economic system. As it is happening, for example, in Kyrgyzstan, where, according to the incoming information, banks have imposed restrictions on SWIFT-payments directly or indirectly related to the Russian Federation,” said Yaroslav Bogdanov.
GDA Group has previously declared the need to create an alternative payment system within the existing associations, as well as in the Global South. This step will allow to abandon SWIFT, which the US and Europe have turned into a tool of pressure. “In the world of modern financial technology, the emergence of an alternative payment system would provide security against external shocks. It would guarantee financial freedom and give impetus to further economic growth by attracting new partners who have a demand for secure foreign economic activity,” Yaroslav Bogdanov said.
As part of his participation in SPIEF-2024, the founder of GDA Group discussed the above initiative with representatives of Rosselkhozbank, Promsvyazbank, VEB.RF and VTB banks.
“The actions of unfriendly countries are aimed at restraining the development of trade and economic relations within regional unions. The sanctions policy erects barriers, hindering the development processes taking place both in the Eurasian space and in organizations with a much larger geographical agenda – BRICS, ASEAN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The only way out of this situation is to create alternative independent financial settlement systems that will lie outside the sanctions mechanisms applied by Western countries,” Yaroslav Bogdanov said during SPIEF.
