The Middle East Bank hosted Ms. Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian Minister of Economy, and the accompanying economic delegation. At a cordial meeting, Ms. Ilse Aigner emphasized the readiness and willingness of industrialists and German businessmen to expand ties with Iran.
According to the memorandum of understanding signed and exchanged at the meeting, Middle East Bank is going to open its first overseas branch in the next few months in Munich.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Aghili—Managing Director of the Middle East Bank—welcomed the German delegation and expressed hope that the two countries economic and financial relations will introduce the development of their economic relations with other European countries. Later, having emphasized the need to attract at least $50 billion of foreign investment to achieve economic growth of 8%, Hossein Salimi, the Vice-Chairman of the Middle East Bank, said that the requests for investment in Iran has increased four times after the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He mentioned that the amount of these requests was $1.2 billion in 2015 while in the last 7 months in 2016 this figure reached $4.8 billion. The Board Chairman of Iranian and Foreign Investment Association predicted that the amount of these requests will have reached $8 billion by the end of 2016.
Then Dr. Reza Soltanzadeh, the Board Member of the Middle East Bank and Managing Director of Iran’s Industries Investment Company, pointed out the process of establishment of the Middle East Bank. Referring to the history of the establishment of private banks in Iran, he appreciated the efforts made by Dr. Aghili in this field. The Board Member of the Middle East Bank mentioned that one of the main problems in bank establishment has to do with the reduction of 300 percent of the value of the national currency and a hike in dollar’s value in 2011 (1390); however, with efforts made by our colleagues and guided by Dr. Aghili along with tough foreign sanctions the Middle East Bank was finally established, which is currently considered one of the most successful Iranian companies.
In a short speech, Dr. Aghili also pointed out the process of forming the idea of establishing a branch in Munich. Having recited the appropriate experience of cooperation between Iran and Germany, he expressed hope that with increased and improved relations between the two countries, especially with the state of Bavaria, our country will enjoy capital inflows and technical knowledge along with high quality German merchandise. After he thanked Ms. Aigner and Mr. Brossardt and their support, Dr. Aghili predicted that the Munich branch of Middle East Bank would be opened in the following few months.
Later on in this meeting, Mr. Bertram Brossardt, the President of the Bavarian Industry Association in Germany mentioned that solving financial problems is possible through the Middle East Bank and encouraged other banks in Iran to prioritize following the route on which the Middle East Bank has taken to gain the trust of others and take steps to solve the existing problems with the improvement and implementation of corporate governance regulations.
The last speaker at the meeting was Ms. Ilse Aigner, Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology. She expressed hope that the current financial difficulties would be resolved as soon as possible. She praised the good behavior and professionalism of the Middle East Bank and appreciated the cooperation with KPMG Company, which have made the performance of the bank transparent. Later on in the meeting, Dr. Aghili responded to questions of German delegation and at the end of the meeting, Dr. Aghili, Ms. Aigner, and Mr. Brossardt signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation among the Middle East Bank, State of Bavaria, and Bavarian Industry Association.
Date: (5 september 2016)