Russian Central Bank Governor Visits Iran To Strengthen Financial Ties
Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina visited Tehran for talks with her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Farzin, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The talks focused on strengthening relations between commercial banks from the two heavily sanctioned countries as well as “increasing banking infrastructure cooperation,” Iranian central bank Governor Farzin said.
Nabiullina also participated in talks during the Asian Clearing Union meeting in Tehran, which Russia is attending as an observer along with officials from Belarus and Afghanistan. According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber discussed efforts with Nabiullina to eliminate the use of the dollar in transactions with Russia.
Nabiullina’s visit to Tehran follows that of Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, President Vladimir Putin’s top energy official, last week.
Once lauded by western officials, Nabiullina faced unique challenges following the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Western governments froze some $300 billion of the Bank of Russia’s foreign reserves and imposed unprecedented economic sanctions on the country which caused a sharp drop in the value of the ruble.
However, Nabiulla was able to stabilize the ruble and manage the economic fallout from Russia’s disintegration from the US-dominated global financial system.
