Iran, Syria to Launch Joint Bank

Iran and Syria are due to establish a joint bank to facilitate trade ties between the two countries, a senior Iranian economic official said.

“Iran and Syria are due to establish a joint bank which will change the trade equations between the two countries,” Golmohammadi, a senior member of the economic development headquarters of Iran, Iraq and Syria, said on Saturday.

“We are also trying to create an internal swift between the Central Banks of Iran and Syria in order to counter the sanctions,” he added.

This plan is in the final stage which will resolve problems of money transfer between Iran and Syria, Golmohammadi said.

Governors of Iranian and Syrian central banks in a meeting in September 2019 had called for the establishment of joint bank and implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which have already been signed by both banks.

Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdul Nasser Hemmati in a meeting with his Syrian counterpart hailed the agreements reached by the two countries’ central banks, hoping that such measures would help promotion of economic collaboration.  

He also called on the Syrian side to remove obstacles for setting up joint bank.

Head of Syrian Central Bank, for his part, said that fortunately, there is no obstacle on the way of promoting banking relations.

Continued talks will encourage the Iranian and Syrian banks and companies for further collaboration, he said.

At the end of the meeting, both officials agreed that a committee comprising representatives from Iranian and Syrian bankers to pursue implementation of the agreements reached earlier.