JAKARTA, October 22 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Russia and Indonesia are working on expanding the use of national currencies in their mutual settlements, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Alexei Gruzdev told RIA Novosti.

At the government level - through the intergovernmental commission, specifically - efforts are underway to foster greater trust within the business community and to facilitate the restoration of correspondent accounts. This will, in turn, lead to an increased share of national currencies in mutual settlements, Gruzdev said.

The deputy minister has previously described the goal set by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Eastern Economic Forum to double the volume of bilateral trade as entirely realistic.

Implementing joint projects will make it possible not only to achieve this goal but also to significantly exceed the planned targets, Gruzdev added.

In 2025, trade between the two nations grew by nearly 13% to $4.8 billion, data by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade show.

In early October, the Central Bank of Indonesia urged businesses to make greater use of national currencies in cross-border settlements in order to reduce the country's reliance on the US dollar.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar