Achieving Financial Independence: Experts Discuss Development of BRICS National Currency Settlements
How can BRICS countries move away from the dollar in international settlements, and what can they do to advance this goal today? These questions were discussed by experts during a round table at HSE University. The event was organised by the Multilateral Strategic Projects Office together with the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs as part of HSE’s activities within the BRICS Network University and the Joint Basic Research Projects ‘International Academic Cooperation of HSE University.’
Bruno de Conti
Despite efforts to introduce new currencies into international trade, the dollar is still used in 88% of transactions, noted Bruno de Conti, Professor of Economic Theory at the University of Campinas. This means that only 12% of transactions are conducted in national currencies. ‘The South African rand accounts for 1%, the Brazilian real has the same share, and due to sanctions, there are virtually no transactions in roubles. These figures are negligible compared to BRICS’ importance to the global economy,’ he said. Active steps to challenge the dollar’s dominance are being taken, particularly in China: the share of the Chinese yuan has risen from almost zero in 2007 to 7%. ‘There are bilateral initiatives within BRICS, and this is important especially now that BRICS is expanding,’ Bruno de Conti added.
He quoted Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who said in 2023 that he constantly wonders why all countries are forced to support the dollar instead of trading in their own currencies. According to the scholar, changing the situation requires addressing internal BRICS challenges—such as inertia and the difficulty of reconciling diverse national interests. Overcoming internal disagreements and strengthening digitalisation are essential steps forward.
Alexandra Morozkina
Alexandra Morozkina, Associate Professor at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, noted that the use of BRICS currencies in international trade is expanding. The share of the yuan in China’s international trade increased from 15% in 2021 to 28% in 2024. ‘The share of the rouble in total Russian exports grew from 12% in 2022 to 41% in 2024,’ she said. In 2023, a landmark deal took place: the yuan was used for the first time to settle oil transactions between the UAE and China. Increasing the liquidity of national currencies is a step towards de-dollarisation, and BRICS is gradually building the necessary infrastructure for it. ‘The BRICS Grain Exchange is also a step towards setting prices in BRICS currencies,’ Alexandra Morozkina explained.
Alexey Ponomarenko
Alexey Ponomarenko, Professor at the HSE Joint Department with the Bank of Russia, presented a concept for creating a closed international settlement system and discussed in detail models for such settlements, using the Mariana Project as an example. He pointed out that in designing such a system, the requirements for a single technical settlement unit are minimal, meaning that no specific changes to the monetary systems of participating countries would be necessary. Prof. Alexey Ponomarenko emphasised the importance of automatically determining exchange rates—a mechanism that could naturally regulate payment flows.
The round table was moderated by Olga Biryukova, Associate Professor at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs. Anastasia Vyskubina, Head of the Online Project Support Department at HSE University, also took part in the discussion.
See also:
HSE to Bring Together Experts from World’s Leading Universities in St Petersburg
From May 18 to 22, 2026, HSE University–St Petersburg will become a hub of global academic dialogue. International Partners’ Week will bring together more than 100 delegates from 47 universities across 20 countries.
HSE and Peking University Discuss Prospects for Expanding Cooperation
In Moscow, HSE University’s leadership met with a delegation from Peking University headed by its President, Gong Qihuang. During the meeting, the parties agreed to strengthen partnership between the two universities within the framework of the Cross Years of Russian–Chinese Cooperation in Education (2026–2027).
HSE and Nazarbayev University: Scientific and Educational Cooperation
In April 2026, HSE University welcomed an official delegation from Nazarbayev University. The visit primarily focused on establishing cooperation between the two universities, expanding partnership ties, and developing joint projects in support of strengthening bilateral relations between Russia and Kazakhstan.
‘Meet Professors, Gain Experience’: Uzbek Lyceum Students Undertake Placement at HSE
The fourth off-site school organised under the Lyceum Classes project has taken place with the support of HSE University and implemented by the HSE Department of Internationalisation. This year, 79 students from International House Tashkent and Interhouse Lyceum came to HSE. The programme includes an introduction to the university, the opportunity to attend classes, and tours around Moscow.
HSE University Presents Research Results at AI Conference in Oman
In April 2026, the International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Artificial Intelligence Applications (ISAA 2026) was held at the University of Nizwa in the Sultanate of Oman. The event was co-organised by HSE University, the University of Nizwa, and the University of Technology and Applied Sciences–Ibri. Researchers from HSE University were among the key speakers at the conference.
'What Impressed Me Most Was the Highly Active and Energetic Group of Students'
Sankha Basu, Assistant Professor at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Delhi), taught a course at the Spring School 'Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy' hosted by the International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy. This was his first visit to a Russian university, and he shared his impressions with the HSE News Service.
HSE University Installs Geoscan Station at IIT Bombay
A Russian ground station for receiving SONIKS satellite data has been installed on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). Developed by Geoscan, the system will become part of a mirror laboratory project run jointly by HSE University and one of India’s leading universities.
‘It Is a Great Honour for Us to Be Partners’
In late March 2026, an official meeting took place between a delegation from HSE University and delegations from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU); the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the Embassy of Vietnam in the Russian Federation. The participants discussed key areas of cooperation that will help strengthen ties not only between the universities, but also between the two countries.
How the Brain Processes a Word: HSE Researchers Compare Reading Routes in Adults and Children
Researchers from the HSE Center for Language and Brain used magnetoencephalography to study how the brains of adults and children respond to words during reading. They showed that in children the brain takes longer to process words that are frequently used in everyday speech, while rare words and pseudowords are processed in the same way—slowly and in parts. With age, the system is reorganised: high-frequency words shift to a fast route, whereas new letter combinations are still analysed slowly. The study was published in the journal Psychophysiology.
How Neural Networks Detect and Interpret Wordplay: New Insights from HSE Researchers
An international team including researchers from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science has presented KoWit-24, an annotated dataset of 2,700 Russian-language Kommersant news headlines containing wordplay. The dataset enables an assessment of how artificial intelligence detects and interprets wordplay. Experiments with five large language models show that even advanced systems still make mistakes, and that interpreting wordplay is more challenging for them than detecting it. The results were presented at the RANLP conference; the paper is available on Arxiv.org, and the dataset and the code for reproducing the experiments are available on GitHub.