In addition, Iran and Russia have succeeded in synchronising “the banking messengers”. On January 29, 2023, the central banks of Iran and Russia signed a deal to connect their national interbank communication and transfer systems to help boost trade and ease two-way bank transactions. In fact, since one of the preconditions for creating a SWIFT-like system between Iran and Russia is the development of native interbank messenger systems, this issue has also been a key part of expert and technical negotiations between the two countries. In this regard, the banking messengers of Iran (SEPAM) and Russia (SPSF), the Russian equivalent of SWIFT, were connected in February 2023, and Sberbank and VTB Bank of Russia joined it.
On the other hand, VTB Bank, the second largest bank in Russia, opened an office in Tehran on May 17, 2023 which is an ‘Agent Bank’ between Iran and Russia. Indeed, the role of Mir Business Bank, the sole shareholder of which is Bank Melli (National Bank) Iran, has increased in Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan. There is no doubt that such developments have played an important role in increasing Iran’s trade volume with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union from one to four billion dollars in recent years. As Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak said, “the volume of trade between Russia and Iran increased 48% in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. According to the results of the first quarter of 2024, Russia’s exports to Iran have increased by 77% and the country’s imports from Iran have increased by 13%.” Indeed, ‘”national currencies are being used in more than 96% of mutual payments between Russia and Iran”, the Kremlin’s press service said on ahead of the meeting between the presidents of the two countries on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 21, 2024.
It seems that this process in the banking cooperation between Iran and Russia can be used as a pattern for the use of national currencies in the Eurasian Economic Union, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS. However, financial and banking cooperation between Iran and Russia continues to suffer from challenges and constraints, including the commitment of Iranian exporters to the “cancellation of export obligation”, which was adopted by the Iranian government and the central bank, the lack of stability in the exchange rate of the ruble and the rial against the US dollar, and the disparity in the volume of imports and exports between Iran and Russia, which has resulted in a mis-match in the sum of rials and rubles used in trade.
To overcome these challenges and constraints, both sides need to focus on continuous negotiations and reach rational and stable solutions. In this regard, to solve the problem of the imbalance between rials and rubles, part of Russian exporters’ ruble claims from Iran can be used for investment in Iran. By using this method, there is no need to transfer and exchange rials with rubles, and Russian companies can settle their financial claims via Foreign Direct Investment. Transit and transportation projects, Iran’s free economic zones such as Anzali Port, Amirabad Port and Chabahar, and the agricultural sector are among the suitable investment areas for Russian companies, which can provide the possibility of re-export for these companies to Russia and other countries.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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