Iran, Saudi Arabia to resume banking ties
The Iranian economy minister said he negotiated with his Saudi counterpart to resume financial and banking ties between the two countries.
Ehsan Khandouzi told reporters that good agreements were achieved with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) during its recent annual meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Fars news agency reported.
He stressed that the Iranian economic delegation, headed by him, discussed with the Saudi side, “The facilitation of the Hajj rituals process, banking issues, flight issues, and the travel of Iranian business people,” which were welcomed by the Saudis.
The minister added that during the financial forum it was decided that the implementation of construction and investment projects, which had been delayed for several years, would speed up.
“It was agreed that within the next three months, the CEOs of Iranian and Saudi companies and delegations representing their private sectors should have constructive meetings to reach an agreement,” Khandouzi said.
bilateral meetings
Referring to the bilateral meetings he held with officials of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries attending the meeting, the Iranian economy minister described the approach of Muslim countries of the region regarding the expansion of ties with Iran as “practical”, IRNA reported.
“I found that investing in Iran was quite appealing for officials of the regional countries attending the IsDB meeting in Jeddah, and they were stressing the importance of launching investment projects in Iran as quickly as possible,” Khandouzi said.
As such, customs agreements, joint investment projects, and cutting double taxation between Iran and the countries in attendance were set to be finalized in the future.
“During the upcoming trip of the Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said to Tehran, the first agreement regarding Oman’s investment in Iran is to be signed,” the minister announced, adding that Iran will similarly sign other bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Khandouzi further said that the Saudi side also decided to make joint investments in Iran’s oil and gas sector, as well as in fields where Iran’s economy has good export potential including knowledge-based products, nano-biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, power plants, transit, and road and transportation fields.