Iran and Oman central banks discussed ways to boost cooperation in Tehran on Thursday.
Ali Salehabadi, governor of the Central Bank of Iran in talks with the visiting Chairman of the Central Bank of Oman Taimur bin Asaad bin Tariq al-Saeed took stock of close ties between the two Persian Gulf neighbors and said building effective banking ties with Oman is on the agenda, the CBI website quoted him as saying.
"In one instance of mutual collaboration, the Central Bank of Oman last year helped us recover nearly $500 million frozen in the United Kingdom for more than 50 years," Salehabadi said.
"Such interaction will continue in the future," he added without elaboration.
A wide range of issues were discussed during the meeting. “We had common standpoints regarding all issues."
Tariq al-Saeed stressed the need to build on ties between the two sides in the key banking and monetary sectors.
"We seek to expand these ties [in talks with] with our Iranian counterparts," the senior Omani banker was quoted as saying.
Local media recently reported progress in the process of releasing Iran's blocked assets in some countries, including South Korea.
The Omani delegation’s visit is seen by observers as being related to the release of more Iranian assets now in the Arab sultanate as it played a key role in recovering assets blocked in some countries since 2018 due to the US economic sanctions.
South Korea imported $7.8 billion worth of oil from Iran in 2017, but has stopped Iranian purchases since 2019 due to US economic blockade that bans Iran's oil exports, according to the data by the Korea International Trade Association.
Release of the frozen assets is subject to approval from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
