Iran, Singapore Resolving Banking Ties

Iran and Singapore called for resolving banking issues to boost trade.

In a meeting with the head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Singapore’s Ambassador to Iran Ong Keng Yong said, “We are currently working to come up with a suitable solution to establish banking relations between Singapore and Iran,” the official news portal of ICCIMA reported.

He met with ICCIMA chief, Gholamhossein Shafei, on Wednesday to discuss the capacities for bilateral economic cooperation as well as the requirements for joint investments.

“Because banking hurdles have to be resolved, we can improve the level of our relations by establishing more ties between our respective small- and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.

As examples of potential fields of cooperation, the ambassador referred to SMEs active in food processing and production of electronic consumer goods and cosmetics.

Shafei pointed to a considerable economic growth reached in Singapore and said Iranian businessmen are eager to work with the Southeast Asian nation’s private sector.

“Iran-Singapore ties dwindled after international sanctions were imposed against the former, but ties could be elevated to a level even better than before as conditions are improving,” he added.

Singapore’s economic growth accelerated in the second quarter of 2017, with gross domestic product rising 2.9% on-year. Manufacturing was a key driver of the growth, rising 8.1% on-year in the quarter.

The city-state’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has forecast a 3% GDP growth rate for this year, while it grew by 2.5% and 2.9% during the first and second quarters of 2017 respectively.

The ICCIMA chief evaluated bilateral cooperation in oil, energy and technical and engineering services as suitable, noting that the country had an active participation in a number of oil projects in Iran before the sanctions.

“In order to strengthen the level of our mutual ties, investments in transit and transportation can be a good option,” Shafei said, adding that especially since a China-led effort is trying to restore Silk Road to its former glory and Iran is directly on its route, “attention toward transportation could be very important for both Iran and Singapore”.

The ICCIMA chief emphasized the necessity of removing hurdles on the way of banking and insurance affairs to improve the level of Iran-Singapore affairs.

“Both countries must strive to facilitate the travels of economic delegations as well as business owners,” he said, “which goal will be realized with an easier process of obtaining travel visas.”

According to Shafei, a business delegation from Singapore is to travel to Tehran within the next few days.

He proposed that a day to publicize Singapore’s economy in Tehran would be considered and asked the ambassador to hold a similar day for the Iranian economy in his country.

“Such a move would improve bilateral economic knowledge of businesses, especially private sector ones, and would prepare the ground for more investments in key areas with high efficiency,” Shafei concluded.