The governor of the Central Bank of Iran and Qatar's ambassador in Tehran met on Sunday in Tehran.
Unlocking billions in Iranian assets overseas was among the key issues discussed between Ali Salehabadi and Qatar's Ambassador Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Hajri, IRNA reported without providing details.
Salehabadi referred to the potential for building closer ties between the two neighbors and called for effective measures to promote bilateral banking collaboration and trade.
A high-profile delegation from Doha will visit Tehran in the near future, Al-Hajri said and expressed his country's readiness for expand ties with Iran.
Ways to free Iran's frozen assets in other countries is said to be among the main objectives of the upcoming visit of Qatari officials.
Tehran has held talks with countries in which Iranian assets are held namely South Korea, Oman, Iraq, China and Japan. Iran has more than $7 billion from oil exports locked in two South Korean banks -- the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Woori Bank -- due to the 2018 US economic blockade.
This was confirmed earlier by the Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran, Saeed Khatibzadeh.
“The operational framework for freeing a significant amount of the blocked money has been prepared and Tehran will soon have access to it,” he told a weekly press conference.
Iran and Qatar have long enjoyed cordial ties but forged closer economic cooperation soon after several Arab states led by Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Doha in June 2017 and imposed a blockade on the small Persian Gulf country, accusing it, among other things, of supporting terrorist groups.
An estimated 967,503 tons of goods worth $117 million were exported from Iran to Qatar in 10 months (March 21, 2021-Jan. 2022), according to data from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Imports from the Arab state in the same period was 1,901 tons worth $7.23 million.
The two sides signed several memorandums of understanding during President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Doha in February. The two leaders also agreed to use existing capacities to strengthen bilateral ties in various sectors.
Additionally, Iran has raised the possibility of building what would be the world’s longest tunnel, providing it with a physical connection to Qatar across the Persian Gulf.
