Tehran, Iran, March 5
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Banking relations between Iran and Russia play a key role in bilateral ties, Bank Melli of Iran (MBI) CEO Abdolnasser Hemmati said.
High-ranking officials on both sides enjoy strong will to improve bilateral trade and banking relations, he added during a meeting in Russia, MBI's website reported March 5.
"The MBI has for long believed in the significance of banking ties with Russia, that being why it launched Mir Business Bank as a branch in Moscow to facilitate bilateral banking," he noted.
During the meeting, Vasily Titov, first deputy president and chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, said the lifting of sanctions on Iran has created a unique opportunity for banks on both sides to improve their relations.
He added VTB is going to broaden the scope of its cooperation with Iran, especially establishing brokerage ties with the BMI in order to more easily issue credit and insurance for funding economic projects in Iran.
Mehrnoosh who as in Moscow leading a trade and banking delegation, said Russian banks are also ready to open LCs for Iran.
Various sectors such as industry, oil, trade, energy, and aviation are hoped to provide grounds for the two countries to improve their annual turnover of $2 billion to the target $10 billion in the near future.
Before it plunged to $2 billion due to sanctions, Iran-Russia's trade turnover was $4 billion in 2013.