According to Tasnim dispatches, addressing a joint meeting of Iranian and Indian business people in New Delhi on Saturday, Zarif quoted a top Indian Central Bank official as saying that UCO Bank will have opened its first branch in Tehran before the end of this year.
Describing banking cooperation between Iran and India as the backbone of bilateral economic relations, the foreign minister said Iran and India’s economies complement one another.
He further noted that Iran is not willing to be merely a supplier of oil for India, but seeks closer energy cooperation with the South Asian country in the upstream and downstream industries.
Heading a mainly trade delegation, the Iranian minister has travelled to India for the 6th Heart of Asia ministerial conference, slated for December 3-4 in Amritsar, Punjab state, and for talks with Indian officials on bilateral, regional and international issues.
He will later visit China and Japan.