Kremlin's has recently announced that Ethiopia is among the list of key African nations whose banks can participate in currency trading in Russia.
Other African states included, according to the Russian government are Nigeria and Tunisia.
A statement by the Russian government said "The number of friendly and neutral countries whose credit institutions and brokers will be allowed to trade on the Russian foreign exchange market and the derivatives market, has increased to 40. The order has been signed. Representatives from Argentina, Cambodia, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Tunisia and Ethiopia will now be able to engage in currency trading."
Moscow's expansion of list of friendly countries is said to help improve the efficiency of the mechanism for direct conversion of national currencies of friendly and neutral states, as well as meet the demand of the Russian economy for payments in national currency, Sputnik Africa said, mentioning government statement.
Previously, only Russian residents could participate in domestic foreign exchange trading, but their limited ability to supply sufficient liquidity in national currencies restricted transaction volumes and distorted the ruble's exchange rate. This was driven by a surge in demand for other currencies due to Western sanctions.
In September 2023, Russia included some other African countries in the currency trading list.