Bank Pasargad of Iran which had received RBI’s approval to open a branch in India in 2019, may use the capital it already has in India for the purpose, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said.
He said Iran and India were working on operating banks in each other’s countries. On Pasargad’s maiden branch in Mumbai, he said “we are in the process of finalising the agreement with India for initial capital. Because of difficulty in transferring hard currency, we can use initial capital we already [have] in India… gained by sale of oil.”
“Legally, the government of India can accept it, and I hope they will accept it, and we can establish that as the foundation capital for Pasargad Bank, which is one of our biggest, privately owned banks,” he added.
Mr. Zarif further said if India wanted to play a role in defusing US-Iran tensions, it could “encourage” the United States to return to the nuclear deal of 2016, from which President Donald Trump walked out in 2018.
He said Iran was not interested in negotiating a new deal with the U.S., but wanted the Americans to honour the one inked after negotiations between 2013 and 2016.
