Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Fatih Karimov– Trend:
Iran and Pakistan are determined to accelerate implementation of mutual banking agreements, Mohammad Nahavandian, the Iranian vice president for economic affairs, said.
Implementation of the banking agreements must materialize within the coming three months, Nahavandian said in a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in Tehran.
Opening a 500-million euro line of credit by central banks of Pakistan and Iran as well as opening of the respective national bank branches in both countries are among the agreements which must be implemented within the coming 3 months, the Iranian vice president said, according to the official website of Iranian president.
Earlier it was announced that Pakistan’s Habib Bank is willing to open a branch in Iran.
Iranian officials have expressed full readiness to issue authorization for Pakistani banks to open branches in the Islamic Republic. Iran’s Bank Melli is also preparing to open a branch in Pakistan.
Nahavandian said that the mutual trade between Iran and Pakistan has registered a 35 percent growth following the removal of international sanctions against Tehran, however the sides aim to increase annual trade volume between the two countries to $5 billion by 2021.
Last year, Iran and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding to establish correspondent banking relationships, opening banking accounts between Tehran and Islamabad, and preparing grounds for cooperation of the two countries' commercial banks to facilitate the mutual business.