Kabul, Dec 26, IRNA -- The first Iranian bank in Afghanistan, Aryan
Bank, officially began business in this Afghan capital on Sunday.
The bank's managing director, Majid Fotouhi, said that Aryan
Bank is a joint venture of Bank Melli and Bank Saderat and has an
initial capital of 10 million dollars.
Operations of the bank are governed by the banking laws of
Afghanistan, Fotouhi said, adding it was established to facilitate
commercial transactions between Tehran and Kabul and strengthen the
countries' economic relations.
Fotouhi said there is a plan to open branches of the bank in
the provinces of Herat and Kandahar once the security situation in
these provinces improves.
There are now 11 foreign banks operating Afghanistan, including
Iran's Aryan Bank.
Britain and Pakistan established banks in Kabul in 2002 and 2003,
respectively.
