IRI economy minister slams int’l money institutes

IRI Economy and Finance Minister Sayyed Shamseddin Hosseini on Wednesday slammed the international financial institutes for adopting monopolistic rules, saying fairness and independence of such institutes were imperative for other countries’ growth and economic development. Addressing the 37th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank in Khartoum, he said that the international financial institutes have not adopted correct economic views. "They have suppressed any justice-seeking attitude in world because they have turned into a tool for economic dominance over nations," he added. Referring to the economic sanctions imposed on Iran, he criticized the sanctions as illegal. Hosseini noted that the world was still suffering from the US economic meltdown as well as Eurozone financial crisis. He said international reports reveal economic backwardness, financial instability, investment risks, rise of inflation and decline in exports across the world in 2011. The minister urged for further financial and banking cooperation among Islamic states in a bid to counter world financial crisis. He said that such cooperation can take place in various areas from granting credits to joint infrastructural projects to facilitating money transfer on the international scene. The minister called for promotion of monetary cooperation and commercial exchanges among Muslim states and urged the states to conduct exchanges in Muslim states' currencies with a final view on an Islamic currency. Hosseini called on the Islamic Development Bank member states to take necessary move to increase their trade exchanges. He voiced Iran’s readiness to conclude deals, exchange of information and promotion of technical cooperation with other member states.