Iran Traders to Open Accounts in Iraqi Banks
TEHRAN (Press TV) - Iranian traders can open accounts with Iraqi banks to carry out their transactions under a new payment system agreed between the two neighbors, the governor of Iran’s central bank Abdolnaser Hemmati said Wednesday.
"According to an agreement reached with the Central Bank of Iraq, Iranian exporters can operate through Iraqi banks, and in this regard, Iranian banks can have dinar-denominated accounts in Iraqi banks,” he said.
On Tuesday, Iran and Iraq agreed on a payment mechanism that will enable the two neighbors to do business in the face of U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
The mechanism was discussed in a meeting between Hemmati and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Ismail al-Alaq in Baghdad and the details were signed off on a document Tuesday night.
Hemmati met Iraqi bank directors, members of chambers of commerce and traders on Wednesday, saying the two sides had reached "good agreements.”
"According to the agreement, the Central Bank of Iran will have euro- and dinar-denominated accounts in Iraqi banks and gas and oil exchanges will be carried out via these accounts,” he said.
"Iraqi companies can also open accounts in Iranian banks and do trade in dinars,” said Hemmati who also announced that he agreed with a request for Iraqi banks to open branches in Iran.
"Therefore, with these agreements and the blessing of the Iraqi prime minister, banking relations between Iran and Iraq will be much stronger, and the expansion of trade relations between the two countries will take shape on this basis,” he added.
*******Iran’s central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati (L) and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Ismail al-Alaq (R) meet in Baghdad, Feb. 5, 2019.
"According to an agreement reached with the Central Bank of Iraq, Iranian exporters can operate through Iraqi banks, and in this regard, Iranian banks can have dinar-denominated accounts in Iraqi banks,” he said.
On Tuesday, Iran and Iraq agreed on a payment mechanism that will enable the two neighbors to do business in the face of U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
The mechanism was discussed in a meeting between Hemmati and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Ismail al-Alaq in Baghdad and the details were signed off on a document Tuesday night.
Hemmati met Iraqi bank directors, members of chambers of commerce and traders on Wednesday, saying the two sides had reached "good agreements.”
"According to the agreement, the Central Bank of Iran will have euro- and dinar-denominated accounts in Iraqi banks and gas and oil exchanges will be carried out via these accounts,” he said.
"Iraqi companies can also open accounts in Iranian banks and do trade in dinars,” said Hemmati who also announced that he agreed with a request for Iraqi banks to open branches in Iran.
"Therefore, with these agreements and the blessing of the Iraqi prime minister, banking relations between Iran and Iraq will be much stronger, and the expansion of trade relations between the two countries will take shape on this basis,” he added.
*******Iran’s central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati (L) and his Iraqi counterpart Ali Mohsen Ismail al-Alaq (R) meet in Baghdad, Feb. 5, 2019.