"It is already clear today what should be done to achieve the full convertibility of the ruble in capital transactions," he said at the conference, The Russian Ruble: 15 Years on the Path toward Free Convertibility, "because, in fact, it is already fully convertible in current transactions."
"Apparently, the government will present six ways that will lead to the full convertibility of the ruble," he said.
The first way is to develop financial markets. This measure should increase confidence in the Russian financial system and in the reliability of the national currency.
The second way is to strengthen the Russian banking system. He said he was hopeful that the strategy for developing the banking center that the government approved this summer would be implemented as soon as possible. "However," he said, "it has not been published yet and, I think, has not been signed, in other words, it has not come into force. This several month delay damages Russia's positioning as a country developing its banking sector, hence the questions from international agencies, including rating agencies. I hope that this technical hitch will end."
Mr. Savatyugin said the third way was to support the Russian ruble, protect it from the situation in foreign economies and develop high-tech exports to shift the ruble's orientation away from raw materials. He noted that this was supposed to occur through the economy and not by administrative methods.
The fourth way is to make the Stabilization Fund an important factor in sterilizing the money supply, he said.
He said the ministry planned to present a plan for how the Central Bank will manage the fund as well as also the procedures for using funds from the fund, including using the fund to pay off Russia's foreign debt.
"The next way is the idea of turning the ruble into an IMF reserve currency," he said. "This requires quite a bit; paying off Russia's debt to the IMF, which is now about $4 billion. Russia can do this, and then some time later, it will be possible to speak about the Russian ruble becoming an IMF currency. In this case, the IMF will be able to lend rubles to borrower countries." In his opinion, ruble loans could be used in CIS countries.
At the same time, he said repaying the debt to the IMF was not Russia's top priority. He said the Russia first planned to pay off its largest non-market debt to the Paris Club, $45 billion, in part with funds from the Stabilization Fund.
The sixth way is for Russia to join the WTO.
