By Lyubov Pronina
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”
“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”
The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.
The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”
Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lyubov Pronina in L’Aquila, Italy at lpronina@bloomberg.net
http://www.rt.tv/Business/2009-07-10/Currency_issues_take_centre_stage_at_G8_.html
Last Updated: July 10, 2009 10:23 EDT
Currency issues take centre stage at G8
10 July, 2009, 18:30
The final day of the G8 Summit has moved a step closer to creating a new world currency.
In a speech in L'Aquila Italy, Dmitry Medvedev showed an example of a so-called United Future World Currency unit. He says he's spoken to world leaders, and they're committed to the idea.
“What it tells us is, indeed, this is a gift, but people are thinking about it. One day we'll see something like that happening, we can use it, hold it in your hands and see it used as a means of settlement. And this coin was given a special standard, and rules of its circulation. This is a symbol of our unity, our desire to jointly tackle such problems.”
Earlier in the summit, the leaders agreed not to devalue their national currencies, to undercut competitors by making exports cheaper.
Presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich agreed a further rouble devaluation is not likely at present.
“Rouble stability depends on the stability of the Russian economy and the state of the balance of payments. We believe that there’s no necessity right now to devalue the Rouble, given the positive trade balance, positive current account. If the fundamentals change, some movements are possible, but not radical ones.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKa4Y1aJGyM&feature=channel_page
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