TEHRAN – Iran and Brazil have agreed to expand their financial and banking relations, with a focus on using national currencies in bilateral trade and leveraging banking infrastructure for economic cooperation.

According to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the agreement was reached during a meeting between CBI Deputy Governor Asghar Abolhasani and Tatiana Rosito, Brazil’s Deputy Finance Minister and Chair of the BRICS Central Bank Deputies and Finance Ministers Meeting.

Brazil, as the current chair of BRICS, highlighted at the Cape Town summit in South Africa that strengthening financial and banking cooperation among member states using national currencies would be beneficial to all participants.

During the meeting, Abolhasani and Rosito discussed the significant financial and trade potential between Iran and Brazil, emphasizing the importance of increasing bilateral and multilateral monetary and banking cooperation, particularly through mechanisms available within the BRICS framework.

Abolhasani noted that the economic and trade capacities of Iran, Brazil, and other BRICS members indicate that enhanced banking and financial cooperation could significantly boost trade among these nations in the short term.

Rosito stressed the need to strengthen bilateral financial cooperation with Iran and proposed utilizing BRICS capabilities to develop new banking and financial collaboration mechanisms, given ongoing global financial and banking developments.

On the sidelines of the BRICS Central Bank Deputies’ Technical Meeting in Cape Town, Abolhasani also held separate talks with officials from Russia, India, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, reiterating Iran’s commitment to expanding bilateral and multilateral monetary and banking cooperation with BRICS members.

EF/MA