TEHRAN, May 2, YJC - German officials say the Middle East Bank of Iran has received a license to open a branch in the country’s state of Bavaria which hosts a wide range of big industrial names.
![Iranian bank to open branch in Bavaria Iranian bank to open branch in Bavaria](/files/en/news/2017/5/2/33741_176.jpg)
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The announcement was made by Markus Wittmann, a top official with an economic delegation from Bavaria that was in Tehran over the weekend for talks on ways to promote mutual trade.
Iran’s Persian-language newspaper Ete’laat quoted Wittmann as saying that the Middle East Bank would be authorized to open its branch in summer.
He added that another bank – Sina Bank – was also on the way of obtaining a similar license, stressing that it had the required conditions to operate in Bavaria.
The official was talking to reporters after a meeting between merchants and industrialists from Bavaria and their Iranian counterparts.
He emphasized that companies from Bavaria were conducting around 50 new projects in Tehran, stressing that the projects were being carried out in a variety of areas including auto production, energy and technology.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Wittman said Iran’s banking sector still faced difficulties over reintegrating with the international banking system in what he said was a result of years of sanctions against the country.
He said the reintegration of Iran’s banks with the global banking system would take time, but emphasized that German banks – specifically those in Bavaria – would struggle to expedite this.
On a separate front, Bahman Eshqi, the head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), who was heading the Bavarian delegation told reporters that trade between Iran the German state had increased by 33 percent after the removal of sanctions against Iran last year.
Eshqi further emphasized that the TCCIMA was ready to expand trade ties with Bavaria – a move that he said needed the support of the European Union.
Bavaria is the largest German state and is home to a series of industrial giants such as BWM, Audi, Adidas, Puma, Siemens and others.