Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged Muslim nations to form a transport insurance mechanism to foster trade and economic growth among themselves.
Rouhani, who spoke at an Islamic summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said it was time for the Muslim world to look inwards, including in insurance, Malay Mail reported. The Iranian President noted that it is difficult for Iranian exports to get insurance from Western firms, due to sanctions imposed by the United States.
These include war-risk cover for Iranian tankers, as well as an additional ‘breach’ premium when entering high-risk areas, the report said.
Read more: Persian Gulf sees continued surge in war risk premiums
To meet this need for insurance, especially in the transport and transit sectors, Rouhani called for the creation of an insurance system exclusive for Muslim states, to avoid depending on foreign insurance companies.
Rouhani also said that Muslim countries should conduct trade in their own currencies, to reduce reliance on Western economies. This was supported by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
“We have to free bilateral trade from foreign exchange pressure,” Erdogan was quoted as saying at the summit. “Instead of doing trade with foreign currency we would like to do foreign trade with our national currencies.”
