Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran is in expectation of revival of the chance to use its monetary and financial tools that have been under the international prohibition for the years over its nuclear energy program.

Iran’s banking sector was one of the most suffered areas after the imposition of the sanctions on the country.

However, the gradual removal of the prohibitions and sanctions after the nuclear deal between P5+1 and the Islamic Republic has created opportunities for revival of this sector, though major sanctions on this field are still kept.

Iranian government spokesman and Director of the Management and Planning Organization Mohammad Baqer Nobakht voiced hope that by grasping the new situation after the implementation of the nuke deal, the country would be able to use monetary and financial tools to end the economic downturn and boost growth.

Nobakht said the countdown for the removal of economic sanctions has already started, Trend reported on October 26.

He said the Central Bank of Iran has been given a special mission to help end the country’s economic afflictions that have been caused by sanctions.

International sanctions imposed on Iran since 2012 have isolated the country from trade and investment and halved its oil exports to around 1.1 million barrels per day. As a result, the economy contracted 6.6 per cent in 2012 and 1.9 per cent in 2013 before growing by 3.8 per cent in 2014.

The financial industry will largely benefit from the lifting of sanctions that have, over the last three years, prohibited international banks from using SWIFT – the global payments system – to conduct business with Iran’s banks.

Iran’s re-admittance to SWIFT will lead to many new opportunities for international finance and banking. As financial transactions affect all types of industry there will be other significant opportunities that come from Iran’s access to the global payment system.

Furthermore, Nobakht said the Sixth Development Plan welcomes foreign monetary and financial companies to work in Iran. He said the government is composing the Sixth Development Plan based on the post-sanctions situations. The plan will be adopted next Iranian fiscal year, which starts March 21.

Nobakht also pointed out that economic inflation for the past month reached 13.3 percent.

Economic inflation had been above 40 percent when the Rouhani administration took office in 2013. Nobakht counted the success as the result of correct economic policies adopted by the government.

Nobakht said to reach an economic growth rate of 8 percent, the government needs something between 8,000 trillion to 10,063 trillion rials (29,950 rials making $1). The target economic growth of 8 percent has been defined by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

--

Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz