Head of OIETAI's Office for Loans and International Institutions Saeed Khani Oshani said in the past few years, Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran (OIETAI) has taken steps to resume cooperation with international financial institutions though all the measures were made possible by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); as such, the taken steps can be classified into two categories one being resumption of cooperation with international financial institutions is which Iran was already a member but its cooperation with them had been blocked due to sanctions.
“Following the JCPOA, we are now able to resume collaborations with these institutions or add to our capital in them,” highlighted the official adding “in the other category, the Islamic Republic of Iran has become a member of institutions in which we were not members.”
Khani said the World Bank pertained to the first category since Iran had been a member for 60 years though relations were interrupted during sanction years due to banking restrictions and opposition of certain countries.
“Following the nuclear deal and efforts of the government, the World Bank gradually announced that it would continue cooperation with Iran.”
The official said one instance of the second category was Iran’s membership at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); “prior to the JCPOA and when Iran’s subscription to the bank was being negotiated, one major obstacle was that even in case of membership, we would gain no benefit due to blocked banking systems; presently, no restrictions are felt as the country is now a founding member of AIIB.”
OIETAI official said these institutions could directly pay funds to the Islamic Republic of Iran underlining “by identifying projects, the World Bank is able to grant funds to Iran.”
“On the other hand, the AIIB identified its primary projects in several major cities of Iran in late February and seeks to finance them,” stressed Khani concluding “therefore, these organizations can directly allocate funds for development of infrastructure projects as well as that presence of international institutions will give trust and credibility to investors.”
HA/3942675