Belarus Advances De-Dollarization With Uzbekistan

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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