TEHRAN - Establishment of the joint expert committees will improve banking relations between Iran and Pakistan in order to expand economic and trade relations between the two nations. These committees can be effective in removal of economic and trade barriers.

According to CBI PR dept, in a meeting with Mr Munir, the chief executive Of TDAP (Trade Development Authority Of Pakistan), Akbar Komijani the CBI deputy governor referred to widespread historical ties between the two countries and emphasized that the implementation of JCPOA was a good opportunity for both central banks to exchange their experiences and it could be useful to expand trade relations between Iran and Pakistan.
 

"Iranian economy has developed itself in current conditions and many trade barriers in our countries have been removed. At present, Iran holds banking relations with many Asian countries including Japan, India, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia and we hope that this relationship will further extend to other Asian countries, including Pakistan." said Komijani while mentioning the Iranian economic growth in the first quarter of the Iranian year.
Emphasizing the stable economic conditions in Iran, Komijani pointed out that the inflation rate was around 45 percent at the beginning of Rouhani administration. Implementation of appropriate policies by CBI caused this rate to decline to approximately 9.2%. Moreover, the volatile exchange rate in the early days of this government is stabilized now.
"Fortunately, Iranian currency (i.e. Rial) has regained its value against foreign currencies and currently it has a relatively stable exchange rate against dollar. We have reached the relative stability. In this regard, the Central Bank of Iran is seeking to unify the exchange rate. The ongoing process of exchange rate unification would further reduce this rate and strengthen the Rial." he added.
Pointing to the signing of an MOU between the two countries on existing capacities to expand trade relations, the deputy-governor of the Central Bank stated: "Since the implementation of JCPOA, Iran has moved towards expanding trade relations with other countries. Therefore, establishment of the Joint Expert Committee between the two countries could help remove obstacles and facilitate banking and business relations”. “Other organizations and institutions including the Chamber of Commerce of Iran also play a major role in the field of trade and economy.” he continued.
At this meeting, the CBI vice-governor for foreign exchange affairs insisted on the establishment of correspondent relations to improve trade and economic ties between the two countries."CBI does its best to increase correspondent relations with other countries and it is also opening accounts in countries such as Germany, Austria and Italy”, he said, “According to the latest statistics, the number of accounts with international banks has reached 542."
 Referring to of four agreements signed between the two countries, Mr. Kamiab said; “Ashraf Vatra, the Governor of the Central Bank of Pakistan, stressed on cooperation between the two nations in his previous visit and expressed his willingness for such cooperation. Iran also welcomed the idea of further cooperation and establishment of joint committees as useful instruments to operationalize the mutual agreements”.
Meanwhile, Mr Munir, the head of Trade Development Authority Of Pakistan, expressed his satisfaction from visiting Iran and his enthusiasm to increase the volume of transactions. He asserted that boosting the trade volume between the two countries would develop banking relations. “Iran has a great potential to expand cooperation and we hope to establish correspondent relations and open bank accounts so as to facilitate trade relations with Iran", he mentioned.
This high-ranking member of Pakistani delegation released the news about MCB Bank of Pakistan’s request to open a branch in Iran and said, “The banking and correspondent relations between Iran and Pakistan is far from satisfactory at the moment and we do hope that the opening of branches in Iran will lead to comprehensive economic cooperation.