Page 48 - IRANRptOct19

9.1.9 ​Healthcare sector news
A Swiss payment channel that will help Iran to import medicines is ready to operate but is awaiting capital to launch, Otagh Online (“Chamber” Online) has reported the president of the Iran-Switzerland Joint Chamber of Commerce as saying.
Switzerland has for several years operated a distinct business channel for Iran-bound medical consignments, accounting for around 60% of Swiss medical exports sent to the Islamic Republic. However, with the reimposition of sanctions by the US last year, Switzerland found itself having to apply for a special sanctions-waiver to cover the trade mechanism from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
“The channel is ready, its characteristics have been announced, but it’s waiting for the deposit of necessary funds from Iran,” Sharif Nezam-Mafi, president of the Iran-Switzerland Joint Chamber of Commerce, told the news outlet.
“There is no Iranian money in the channel yet”, he said.
“There is no money from Iran in Europe, much of the Iranian funds are still in India, Iraq, China and South Korea,” Nezam-Mafi added, referring to some of the countries the US is temporarily allowing to continue purchasing Iranian crude oil with no threat of sanctions.
Those and other countries are facing difficulties in sending export payments to Tehran due to the heavy restrictions on any financial transactions with the Iranians also introduced by the US.
The chamber of commerce official added that for the medical channel to operate, European countries must state their agreement that Iran can transfer funds from buyers of Iranian crude in Asia to purchase medicines in Europe.
The Swiss have already designated two banks likely to accept the trade to be conducted with the mechanism: “It could either be the Heritage Bank or Banque de Commerce et de Placements [BCP], banks that were handling the Iranian money before the sanctions,” Nezam-Mafi said.
The exports would only flow from Switzerland and would only involve medicine provided by Swiss companies, he added.
9.1.10​ Tourism sector news
The Iranian parliament has passed votes of confidence that clear the way for two new ministers that will serve the education ministry and the newly created tourism ministry, IRNA has reported.
Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei was named the new Minister of Education while Al-Asghar Mounesan, formerly head of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisations (ICHHTO), will now head the tourism ministry, which is essentially an upgraded ICHHTO.
Several dozen lawmakers voted against Mounesan. They were reportedly hardline MPs against promoting Iran as a tourist destination.
The tourism ministry, officially the ​Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism​, was created on August 6 following a vote by Iran’s top legislation vetting body, the Guardian Council.
ICHHTO), a non-ministerial body, was in charge of the country’s tourism and cultural affairs. However, it was repeatedly criticised for not being capable of catering for the increase in visitors Iran has attracted since it relaxed its visa requirements for citizens of dozens of foreign countries.
Recent data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) showed
48​ IRAN Country Report​ October 2019 www.intellinews.com