Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 16
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Based on an agreement between Iran and Russia, Iranian businessmen and enterprises can deposit foreign currency at Russia's Mir Business Bank and receive the equivalent in Iranian rials.
Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai wrote in his Facebook page that Mir Business Bank is ready to transfer money from Russia to Iran.
The service will be offered according to the Russian Central Bank regulations, he added.
All real and legal entities can deposit unlimited volumes of foreign currency at Russia's Mir Business Bank and receive tantamount in Iranian rials based on the free market exchange rate in Tehran, he said.
The decision has been taken to encourage Iranian exporters and facilitate transfer of money gained from exporting goods to Russia, Central Asia, and Caucasus, he explained.
Iran and Russia are planning to create a general account for settlement in national currencies, Sanai said in January.
"Both sides intend to create a general bank or an account to make payments in rials and rubles," he said. "It was also agreed to establish a working group," he noted.
With the partnership between Iran's Bank Melli Currency Exchange and Russia's Mir Business Bank, currency exchange between Iran and Russia resumed on February 4.
The plans came after the two countries decided last year to strengthen their trade ties in 2015 by simplifying the exchange of their national currencies.
Non-oil trade between Iran and Russia amounted to about $1.1 billion in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014, according to the Iran Customs Administration.
Iran exported $316.5 million of non-oil goods to Russia and imported $758.3 million of non-oil goods from Russia.
Edited by CN