TEHRAN, Iran, Sept. 3
Trend:
Head of the Iran-Switzerland Chamber of Commerce Sharif Nezam Mafi has announced that 50 transactions are waiting for the funding from the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA) channel.
Mafi said that the Swiss foreign minister's visit to Iran next week should also focus on discussions to expand SHTA.
"The main issue is the financing of the channel," he said. "It seems that certain solutions have been found to provide such finances."
“Switzerland has always been ahead of the rest of the European countries (in terms of relations with Iran) and has shown this in its vision, strategy and the financial channel,” he said.
“It should not be forgotten that France, the United Kingdom and Germany only talked about INSTEX in theory,” he said.”But in practice nothing was done, but the Swiss authorities launched a humanitarian channel.”
“Iran's Central Bank is interested in this financial channel,” he said adding that the Swiss foreign minister's visit to Iran almost 60 days before the US election is a good opportunity to make this financial channel operational.
"If Joe Biden wins the US election, we hope that our blocked money will be released in other countries and spent on importing medicine and grain,” he said.
Mafi also added that Switzerland can meet Iran's pharmaceutical needs for 100 percent.
“The Swiss pharmaceutical companies have enough ability, but in the end and in the long run, these needs must be met by domestic production," he said.