The Islamic Development Bank Institute hosted its 17th Global Islamic Finance Forum on the sidelines of the 2023 IsDB Group Annual Meeting in Jeddah on 12 May.

Speaking to reporters after attending the Jeddah finance forum, the Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi said, “Good agreements were achieved with the Islamic Development Bank, and the implementation of construction and investment projects, which had been delayed for several years, was decided to speed up.”

“Also, we benefited from the opportunity of economic diplomacy and pursuing President Ebrahim Raeisi’s administration’s neighborhood and regional policy during the trip and we were able to enter into constructive negotiations with our economic partners. In the meeting, bilateral negotiations were held between Iran and Oman, Iran and the UAE, and Iran and Iraq,” the economy minister said.

He continued, “Also, a constructive meeting was held between my Saudi counterpart and me, in which Saudi authorities emphasized that economic conditions should be prepared quickly amid the resumption of political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In general, both Iran’s presence at this forum and the speech I delivered at the forum were warmly welcomed by the Saudi side.”

Emphasizing that the Iranian economic delegation headed by him discussed with the Saudi side “the facilitation of the Hajj rituals process, with regard to banking issues or the issue of flights, as well as the travel of Iranian business people, and it was welcomed by them,” he added, “It was decided that within the next three months, the delegations of private sectors of both countries and the CEOs of the companies on both sides should have constructive meetings to reach the agreements between the private sectors. In the field of investment, suggestions were made by the two sides and it was decided to be completed in the next follow-ups.”

Khandozi continued, “It was also decided to make joint investments in the oil and gas sector, as well as in fields where Iran’s economy has good export potentials, including knowledge-based products and in the fields of nano-biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, power plants, transit, and road and transportation fields.”

KI/ISNA1402022516306