Armenia and Iran are set to expand cooperation between their insurance industry, in a move hailed by key officials and industry leaders as a significant step for strengthening the two countries’ economic ties, Armenian news agency ARKA reported today.
The Armenian ministry of Economic Development and Investments announced that minister Suren Karayan and the director general of the Central Insurance Company of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemati, recently met to discuss options for increased collaboration of reinsurance and insurance industries.
Karayan said; “the development of the insurance institution may have a serious impact on the strengthening of economic relations, trade and cooperation between the two countries.”
And Hemati stressed that “the high-level bilateral economic and political relations are a good basis for the development of cooperation in the field of insurance,” ARKA reported.
According to the head of Armenian Export Insurance Agency, Vazgen Abgaryan, the Armenian agency and the Iranian Foundation for Export Guarantees, signed a memorandum on cooperation in 2015.
He suggested deepening this agreement for reinsurance collaboration, through the possibility of reinsurance transactions in export credits.
ARKA reported that Iranian negotiators suggested signing a tripartite memorandum, that would involve the Iranian Central Insurance Service.
This move to enhance collaboration could boost Armenian and Iranian re/insurers competitive advantage as players in the region face tough market conditions.
Challenging conditions have contributed to Middle Eastern re/insurers seeing a slight drop in credit ratings, according to A.M. Best’s 2016 performance report.
