Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 29
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran and Russia are preparing to switch to national currencies in mutual trade soon, Iran’s Central Bank Chief Valiollah Seif said.
He made the remarks after returning home from a two-day visit to Moscow, Mehr news agency reported Mar. 29.
The issue was discussed with Russia’s banking officials during the visit, Seif said, adding that there are some restrictions for Russia’s Central Bank in this regard as its tasks are different from that of the Central Bank of Iran, so it was agreed that the issue will be followed by Russia’s Gazprombank and Melli Bank Iran at the first step.
Seif said that once the switch to national currencies becomes operational, the mutual trade between the two countries is expected to see a significant surge.
Assadollah Asgaroladi, a veteran Iranian merchant and chairman of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, earlier said the switch to national currencies could break the domination of Western currencies over bilateral exchanges, eventually opening a new chapter in trade relations between Tehran and Moscow.
In March 2015, Iran and Russia signed a basic agreement to create a joint regulatory body to oversee interbank financial transactions between the two countries.
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