Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Valiollah Seif, stressed the importance of closer banking cooperation between Iran and Italy as a way to promote two-way trade.
“Italy has done a great deal so far to develop ties with Iran and this shows its earnest interest in our country,” he was quoted as saying by the CBI website.
Seif who was meeting with a visiting Italian delegation at the CBI’s main office in north Tehran late Monday, expressed hope about a positive future for cooperation between the two nations. Referring to President Hassan Rouhani’s January visit to Rome, he stated that it had produced fruitful results “and so the two nations’ lenders should try to revamp ties.”
Rouhani visited Italy in late January accompanied by a big business and banking delegation. During the visit the two sides signed deals worth 17 billion euros ($ 18.4 billion). The contracts covered various sectors, including energy and steel, and underscored the potential business bonanza on offer to European firms following the lifting of sanctions against Tehran.
The CBI chief said he had held positive talks with Ignazio Visco, governor of Banca d’Italia, Italy’s central bank, during Rouhani’s visit to Rome. “We have prepared a draft for cooperation between the two countries’ central banks due to be signed on the margins of the upcoming meeting of the International Monetary Fund” in Washington.
Seif called on Italian bankers to accelerate bilateral cooperation and invited them to discuss ways to expand ties in meetings with their Iranian counterparts.
Italo Pellegrino, a senior official at Italy’s Mediobanca pointed to a November visit by Italy’s banking delegation to Tehran saying the Italian premier’s visit to Tehran seeks to cement economic and banking ties. “We want to express our commitment to improving relations with Iran.”
The senior Italian banker said that his country is determined to boost banking ties with Iran adding that “we are at an important historic juncture. We will do our best to improve ties between the two nations.”
Joseph Scognamiglio, a senior official at Unicredit stated that his bank is in the process of talks with Iranian lenders. “We have had some talks so far which will be concluded by the end of this month.”
Mario De Luca, head of international affairs at Italy’s Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank said that his bank has established ties with Iranian lenders promptly after the lifting of sanctions. “Immediately after the lifting of sanctions some Iranian banks opened accounts in our bank and we now provide LCs and bank guarantees to them.”
Heading a 250-member business delegation, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for a two-day visit to boost economic relations and removing trade barriers in the post-sanctions era.
Kazakh Ties
In a separate meeting with his Kazakh counterpart ýAkishev Daniyar Talgatovich, Seif welcomed the Kazakh delegation and stressed expanding bilateral banking ties. “I hope this meeting will pave the way for expanding banking ties between the two countries.”
The senior banker proposed a visit by a Kazakh banking delegation to Iran saying it could help expand correspondent banking relations between the two countries. “Iran’s central bank has held talks with Kazakhstan’s central bank and now is the time to implement the agreements.”
“Iranian lenders are interested in opening branches in Kazakhstan. We also welcome Kazakh banks to open offices in Iran. Such measures could help improve bilateral ties,” Seif added.
Akishev Daniyar Talgatovich, governor of National Bank of Kazakhstan, welcomed Seif’s proposals saying his bank and its Iranian counterpart have previously shared experiences in supervision affairs.
“Representatives from Kazakh banks will travel to Iran in the near future and are ready to cooperate with Iranian lenders. We welcome the opening of representative offices of Iranian banks” in the Central Asian state,” he said.
