TEHRAN –Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said that the positive balance in Iran’s non-oil trade is an indication that the country’s economy is moving forward, Mehr news agency reported.

Speaking in a meeting with the representatives of the country’s private sector at the place of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) on Sunday, Abdolnasser Hemmati said “the country's non-oil trade balance is currently positive and [it is] the negative impact of the oil sector [which] has slowed the total economic growth down, so the Iranian economy is moving [forward].”

According to Hemmati, CBI is managing the country’s monetary affairs and runs its business through unsanctionable networks.

“The fact that the foreign currency market is calmed is not a reason to believe that the sanctions are over, the pressure has even increased and the central bank is still sanctioned,” Hemmati said.

“In the past seven months we have secured over $20 billion of foreign currency for importing basic goods. If this trend continues, we will achieve great successes in this regard,” he added.

Noting that many of the central banks of the countries in the region are eager for cooperation with Iran, Hemmati said “We have even had several visits to the neighboring countries [to hold talks] however we will not reveal the details.”

During the event, Head of ICCIMA Gholam-Hossein Shafeie also delivered a speech, in which he emphasized the important role of CBI’s foreign currency committee, saying “Banks are the main vessels through which the economy moves forward, so they need to be managed and guided carefully.”

According to the official, the country’s current monetary condition is not in accordance with its productive sector and this situation has led to corruption in the system and disruption of the income distribution patterns.

Shafeie said liquidity should be directed to the production and employment cycles, so the horizontal growth of the banking system must be stopped and banks should move toward productivity.

EF/MA