TEHRAN – Central banks of Iran and Syria signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Monday for expansion of banking cooperation between the two countries, IRIB reported.

The MOU was signed by the Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati and his Syrian counterpart, Hazem Younes Karfoul, during a meeting in Tehran.
In the meeting, the two sides stressed the need for expansion of banking ties as a prerequisite for development of economic cooperation.

Mentioning an MOU which was signed between the two countries during the 14th Iran-Syria Joint Economic Committee meeting in the Syrian capital city of Damascus in December 2018, Hemmati welcomed the development of banking cooperation between the two sides and called for an accelerated implementation of the MOU.

According to the official, the signed MOU covers a variety of areas including development of strategic and long-term economic cooperation between the two countries, the presence of the Iranian private sector in Syria’s reconstruction, development of joint ventures in the field of transport, housing, services and so on. 

Karfoul for his part underlined Syria's determination for expansion of economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that "As Iran stood by Syria in the battle against terrorism, it is now our duty to stay with Iran during the economic hardship created by the unilateral U.S. sanctions.”

EF/MA