Yahoo Finance Visa Issues Scupper Key Iran Banking Event
Visa (Xetra: A0NC7B - news) problems have forced the cancellation of a flagship Iranian banking conference in London next month, stoking concerns that Britain is failing to exploit the lifting of economic sanctions against Tehran.
Sky News can reveal that an event arranged by Euromoney which was due to be held at The Dorchester hotel, has been called off after Iranian delegates were unable to secure visas.
It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is the second London conference aimed at promoting trade links between the UK and Iran to be cancelled since sanctions were lifted, following a decision to postpone a similar gathering for oil and gas executives.
Harriett Baldwin, a Treasury minister, was scheduled to speak at next month's banking conference, alongside the chief executive of UK Export Finance, and the Governor of Iran's central bank.
In a statement issued to conference attendees, Euromoney said: "The event is designed to reconnect leaders of the Iranian financial community, banks and capital market institutions with the international financial community.
"We have been working hard to ensure that the largest number of participants from Iran can attend the event as possible.
"However, unfortunately due to visa reasons alone we cannot go ahead on 8 March and will be rescheduling to a later date which will ensure maximum turnout from our senior Iranian delegation."
A source close to the Treasury insisted that the visa problems were not the fault of the British Government, insisting that UK Visas & Immigration had "not refused to process a single application".
The UK's visa processing service in Tehran reopened earlier this week.
Regardless of where the responsibility lies, the cancellation of another major conference in London will reignite concerns acknowledged by the outgoing Trade and Investment Minister, Lord Maude, that t he UK is already trailing European competitors in rebuilding trade ties with Iran .
Lord Maude, who is to be replaced by Mark Price, the boss of Waitrose, told Sky News earlier this month that it would take time for the UK to catch up and admitted that an existing exports target was unlikely to be met.
President Rouhani visited France and Italy in recent weeks, striking billions of dollars-worth of business deals, but to date just two modestly sized business groups have accompanied British ministers on trade visits to Tehran.
A Treasury spokesman said: “The UK Government fully supports the resumption of trade between the UK and Iran and is engaging with Iranian authorities and UK financial services firms and associations, to welcome Iran's re-engagement with the international financial community.”
In addition to the banking conference, a separate meeting between the Treasury and Iranian banking representatives had also been scheduled for next month, and has been cancelled.
Labour said a report released on Thursday showing export growth slowed during the final quarter of 2015 was evidence that George Osborne, the Chancellor, "has been asleep at the wheel".
"He’s leaving our economy insufficiently resilient to advancing global threats and not in a high-enough state of readiness to seize on the fast-approaching opportunities to make sure that Britain benefits most," said Kevin Brennan, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Trade, Investment and Intellectual Property.
Euromoney said it now hoped to stage the Iranian banking conference in London in May.
