Reported by HPMM Group according to FINANCIAL TRIBUNE ;   Minister of Economic and Finance Affairs Masoud Karbasian called for increasing banking cooperation with Bulgaria, proposing that the EU member state open bank branches in Iran for facilitating bilateral trade.

“Bulgaria can have direct banking relations with Iran by establishing bank branches,” Karbasian said in a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Emil Karanikolov, who arrived in Tehran at the head of an economic delegation on Sunday.

“Draft agreements for economic cooperation have been prepared to be signed by the two sides,” Karbasian was quoted as saying by IBENA.

The two sides agreed to set up a joint economic commission to explore potential investment opportunities in the two countries.

Karbasian singled out the two sides’ free trade zones that hold vast potentials for trade cooperation.

A meeting was scheduled with the Bulgarian delegation on Monday, which the Iranian official said would focus largely on exploring ways of boosting interactions between the two countries’ private sectors.

“All these targets, however, hinge on improved banking relations and we are ready to help build the proper climate,” Karbasian said.

The visit by the top Bulgarian economic official came days after a unilateral decision by US President Donald Trump to reinstate nuclear sanctions against Iran while announcing Washington’s withdrawal from the historic 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers, including the US.

Despite Trump’s announcement, European parties to the deal, as well as Russia and China, have vowed to uphold it.