Azerbaijan intends to expand cooperation with Iran in banking sphere, Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said.
The banking sphere is one of the most prospective directions for the expansion of the Azerbaijani-Iranian cooperation, the minister said.
He noted that as part of the intergovernmental commission’s meeting, such structures as the Financial Market Supervisory Authority and Central Bank of Azerbaijan would organize meetings with their Iranian counterparts, during which this issue would be discussed.
Earlier, head of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valiollah Seif said that the central banks of Azerbaijan and Iran intended to open settlement accounts in line with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in August.
“Economic opportunities of the two countries require us to significantly increase trade turnover, and the best and safest way of carrying out transactions is through the banking system”, said Seif.
He noted that under the MoU, central banks of Iran and Azerbaijan would stimulate the two countries’ commercial banks to establish relations through opening correspondent accounts.
The head of the Iranian Central Bank added that there were conditions for creating branches of Iranian and Azerbaijani banks in both countries.
Thirty-two banks operate in Azerbaijan and 29 – in Iran. (Trend/Business World Magazine)
