Nicaragua is exploring the potential of integrating with Russia’s Mir cost system, which might considerably cut back the Central American nation’s dependence on the US greenback.

This consideration comes within the wake of Visa and MasterCard suspending their operations in Russia because of the nation’s battle with Ukraine in 2022.

In the course of the St. Petersburg Worldwide Financial Discussion board (SPIEF), Laureano Facundo Ortega Murillo, the Advisor for Investments, Commerce and Worldwide Cooperation of the Nicaraguan presidency, indicated that the nation is observing how the Mir system features in Cuba.

The system, launched there in March, has enabled Cuban residents to withdraw money from native ATMs.

Ortega Murillo commented, “We’re now trying into utilizing different means, together with the ruble, in search of alternatives in direction of de-dollarization, and striving to scale back the numerous affect of the greenback, which has traditionally dominated international economics.”

Nicaragua has intentions to undertake the Mir system, which was launched in 2015 and can be accepted in Turkey, Vietnam, South Korea, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia.

“We see that we have now that have in Cuba, and we try to undertake it in Nicaragua, coaching our specialists,” Ortega Murillo added.

The nation additionally seeks to develop its relationship with Russia in a number of areas together with transportation, meals, healthcare, vitality, funding, and banking.

Nevertheless, Ortega Murillo acknowledged {that a} lack of mutual understanding between the 2 nations enterprise communities might pose a problem to this endeavor.

Iván Acosta, Nicaragua’s Minister of Finance and Public Credit score, just lately spoke on the Eurasian Financial Discussion board-2023 in Moscow.

He instructed that Latin American, African, and Eurasian nations should search “alternate options” and “new platforms” in 2023 to scale back their reliance on the US greenback.

Notably, regardless of these plans for nearer ties with Russia, the USA stays Nicaragua’s important buying and selling associate.

The US accounts for one-third of Nicaragua’s imports and round 61% of its whole exports, in keeping with current knowledge from the US embassy in Managua.

Furthermore, almost 80% of the just about US$3.225 billion that Nicaragua acquired in household remittances in 2022 got here from migrants in the USA, because the Central Financial institution of Nicaragua (BCN) reported.