TEHRAN – Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) for Economic Affairs Mohammad Shirijian has said Iran's foreign currency reserves are increasing due to the growth of oil and non-oil exports, and Iran has no foreign debt, IRIB reported on Tuesday.

Shirijian made the remarks in a meeting between the governors of the central banks of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) with the head of the Middle East and Central Asia (MCD) Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Referring to the balanced growth of different economic sectors of Iran and increasing the resilience of the country's economy against the recent global shocks, the official said the country’s real GDP grew by four percent in 2022, and its growth rate increased to 5.3 percent and 6.2 percent in the first and second quarters of 2023, respectively.

Iran’s external debt (foreign debt) has been falling in recent years following a downward trend.

External debt is the portion of a country's debt that is borrowed from foreign lenders including commercial banks, governments, or international financial institutions. These loans, including interest, must usually be paid in the currency in which the loan was made.

Foreign debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the ratio between the debt a country owes to non-resident creditors and its nominal GDP.

The ratio of Iran's foreign debt to GDP is very insignificant and considering this figure, Iran is among the countries with the lowest amount of foreign debt in the world due to the U.S. sanctions and their consequent financial restrictions.

Having external debts is an important economic indicator globally, but it is not currently important for Iran since the country has almost no foreign debts.

EF/MA