Iran, Venezuela launch joint development bank

[Magda Hassan]

This is going to piss some people off.:bike:

Iran, Venezuela launch joint development bank



(AFP) Iran and Venezuela on Friday inaugurated a joint bank to finance their development projects, during a visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Tehran, state media reported.
The Iran-Venezuela Joint Bank, based in Tehran, has an initial capital base of 200 million dollars, with each nation providing half of the funds, the state broadcaster said.
The Export Development Bank of Iran, which is under sanctions from the US Treasury, was tasked with creating the joint bank with the Venezuelans.
"The capital will be raised to 1.2 billion dollars with the aim of supporting joint economic, industrial and mining projects as well as speeding up the current projects," the report said.
"What happened today represents a strong will to build a new world," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, attending the opening ceremony with Chavez.
Iran is under international banking sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme, which the West suspects to be a cover for atomic weapons development although Tehran insists it is purely peaceful.
Chavez, a vocal cheerleader in Latin America for Iran and its nuclear ambitions, was quoted as saying that the two countries should "further strengthen their trade cooperation."
The creation of the bank was announced in May last year, following up on an agreement which the two countries signed in March 2007.
The joint bank will work within Iran’s banking regulations and its activities will be overseen by the Islamic republic’s Central Bank, Iranian news agencies said.
The board of directors comprises four Iranians and four Venezuelans, reports said, adding that a joint investment fund will also be launched in Venezuela.
The United States has also imposed sanctions on three large Iranian banks — Mellat, Melli and Saderat, accusing them of financing weapons proliferation.
The US Treasury said in October it has imposed sanctions on the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI), alleging the bank helped with the country’s nuclear programme.
The sanctions mean any assets held by the bank under US jurisdiction are frozen and US citizens are barred from dealing with the institution.
Iran and Venezuela, whose outspoken president has become a hero figure to many in the Middle East, have forged increasingly strong ties based on their opposition to the United States.
Both are members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and have vowed to further strengthen ties and find common ways to cope with the global economic crisis.
Chavez on Friday denounced a decision by the Group of 20 in London to commit one trillion dollars to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global bodies to help struggling economies.
"They have decided to strengthen the main culprit, the IMF, while this fund should be eliminated," he was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster.
The leftist leader’s visit to Tehran is his sixth, and comes after an Arab-South American summit in Doha.
Venezuela expelled the ambassador of Iran’s arch-foe Israel from Caracas in January in protest against the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead.

[Mark Stapleton]

What a great leader Hugo Chavez is. The hope of the civilised world, imo.

And what infantile behavior by the US Treasury* in banning its citizens from any dealings with the Iranian Export Development Bank. So much for 'they hate us for our freedom'.

* US Treasury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zionism inc.

[Magda Hassan]

And what infantile behavior by the US Treasury* in banning its citizens from any dealings with the Iranian Export Development Bank.

It is a real pain too. Having had dealings in sending money to Cuba I can see how they will work this one. David may be able to explain it more clearly. Somehow, sending money, Australian dollars changed into Euros, from Australia to Cuba from an Australian bank, Westpac, it got confiscated by the US State Department or Treasury I can't recall now. You would think it would go direct to Cuba or where ever you want to send the money but it seems it works a bit like the internet in that your money can travel around the world a bit before it reaches its destination. Somehow, it passed through some sort of US jurisdiction somewhere, not necessarily the continental US, maybe a US bank system outside, so they felt entitled to keep the money. Wespac eventually got it back for us after many months but they don't send money to Cuba anymore as a result. So even though Australia doesn't have sanctions/embargo against Cuba and the US does in effect we do because the US makes it impossible. I imagine it will be the same or similar for this bank and people wanting to deal with it.

I agree with you Mark that Chavez is a great hope to many (and great fear to a few) He and other Latin American leaders are establishing the ALBA bank. It is meant to be a development bank, an alternative the IMF and World Bank, as they don't insist on 'structural adjustments' and there will be no compound interest payments just payments and some fees or a percentage of loan.