Russia's Mir Cards May Be Adopted by 12 New Countries - Tourism Agency Head

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Russia's state tourism agency Rostourism is working to launch acceptance of Mir payment system cards in seven new countries and plans to start a dialogue with five more states, Rostourism head Zarina Doguzova said Saturday.

"Rostourism is actively involved in the promotion of the Russian payment system Mir abroad... Now we are working on the promotion of the Mir cards in seven new countries through tourist agencies. In the near future we are planning to start such a dialogue with five more countries. That is, we have potentially 12 new countries which can accept the Mir card. These are popular tourist destinations. I will not name specific countries yet, but the geography is quite broad: these are the countries of Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Middle East," Doguzova said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Doguzova added that the work on popularization of Mir cards is one of the top priorities of the Rostourism work in the international track.

"In the current difficult conditions, when our tourists can no longer use the cards of Western payment systems abroad, the ability to pay in hotels, cafes or stores with the card of our payment system is not only a matter of comfort, but also of security," Rostourism head added.

Russian payment system Mir is currently accepted in Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

At the end of May, First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova said that there were plans to reach an agreement in the summer with two popular tourist countries on the acceptance of Mir cards. On Thursday, she told reporters at the forum that the Bank of Russia expects to sign such agreements with two more countries.

The 25th SPIEF takes place in St. Petersburg from 15 to 18 June. Sputnik is an official media partner of the forum.