BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 27. A new era begins in the banking relations of the two countries with the start of banking platforms between Iran and Russia, Trend reports.
On December 27, a meeting of bank officials from the two countries was held in Moscow, the Russian capital. The meeting was chaired by Mohammad Reza Farzin, Director General of the Central Bank of Iran, and Elvira Nabiullina, Head of the Central Bank of Russia.
At the meeting, both sides talked about how to improve their banking and monetary cooperation, which is vital for the economic development of both countries. They also agreed to use their own currencies instead of US dollars for their trade, which will help them avoid the sanctions imposed by the US and other countries.
This will also allow them to benefit from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) group as well as the free trade agreement struck by Iran with the Eurasian Economic Union, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
The two sides also discussed how to connect their information systems without using SWIFT, which is a global network for financial transactions that is dominated by the US and its allies.
The same day, Sberbank of Russia and Bank Melli Iran also met and opened a letter of credit worth 6.5 billion rubles (about $71 million). This letter of credit is a guarantee of payment that will allow Iran to buy essential goods from Russia, such as food, medicine, and machinery. This will also strengthen the trade ties between the two countries, which have been growing in recent years.