<p dir="LTR"><span>TEHRAN TIMES- Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), as one of the major banks in Austria, plans to open a branch in Iran, Austrian Ambassador to Iran Friedrich Stift announced on Saturday.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>He made the remarks in Tehran on the sidelines of a meeting between the director of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, Mojtaba Khosrotaj, and the second president of the Austrian National Council, Karlheinz Kopf, Tasnim news agency reported.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>Stift underscored that Austria Import-Export Bank will secure trade with the Islamic Republic, adding that the bank increased its line of credit up to $1 billion from its previous level of $230 million following the recent visit paid by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran to Austria.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>During this meeting, Khosrotaj admitted that Iran is decisive to improve its trade balance with Austria and provide suitable business environment for further cooperation.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>The Iranian official, elsewhere, called on Austrian companies to collaborate with Iran in development of its technological know-how.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span> “Technological and academic cooperation between Iran and Austria is on the course of being expanded and hopes are high for further cooperation in tourism,” he added.</span></p> <p dir="LTR"><span>Kopf, for his part, asserted that the post-sanction era has provided good chances for both sides to boost their bilateral ties.</span></p>