“We have recently begun investing in assets denominated in the Canadian dollar”, Ulyukayev said in an interview on Wednesday. “So far, the amounts are very small, but there’s perhaps potential for increasing our holdings”, he added.

In an attempt to undermine the US dollar’s dominance and mitigate risk of a weak dollar, Russia is trying to promote regional currencies. The Central Bank has already announced that it will increase its gold reserve and add Australian Dollar in the currency basket to reduce dependence on the greenback.

Russia has a total foreign exchange reserve of $495.7 billion, as of November 12, 2010. The US dollar comprises of 47 percent, followed by Euro-41%, British Pound-10%, Japanese Yen-2% and a small amount of Swiss Francs.

The Canadian dollar is still a very small part of the total reserve, but “Within several months we may be able to speak about more substantial volumes and any changes in the structure”, Ulyukayev added.

Commodities contribute to about half of Canada’s export revenue. The Canadian dollar has already gained 4.2% against the US dollar on the back of strong commodities demand. Similarly Australian Dollar – again linked to commodities, has also gained by 9.6 percent against the US dollar this year.

“We are considering several other currencies, but we are looking at them more in a theoretical sense than a practical one”, Ulyukayev said.

President Medvedev has already argued in favor of promoting Ruble as a reserve currency and converting Moscow in to a global financial hub.

Indicating the Rubles increasing acceptance, Ulyukayev said “(Ruble has become) regional reserve currency for the countries of the former Soviet Union” and countries with “a traditionally large share of trade with Russia”.

Russian Ruble has started trading in Shanghai since November 22 and Chinese Yuan will start trading from next month in Russian exchanges.