Austrian ambassador to Tehran Friedrich Stift said Monday that banks of Austria are ready to open branches in Iran in near future to facilitate financial cooperation, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

"The Austrian banks intend to return to Iran, and an Austrian bank has already voiced its preparedness to launch its branch in Iran," Stift said addressing a conference on developing Iran-Austria trade cooperation.

"In some junctures in the past, the trade balance between the two countries hit 800 million euros (about 885 mln U.S. dollars), and Austria imported 400 million euros from Iran, but now the level of the economic relations has been reduced," he said underlining the need for the expansion of mutual ties.

In his visit to Austrian capital Vienna in June, Iranian Economy Minister Ali Tayyebnia discussed bilateral ties, particularly economic and banking relations, with the Director General of the Austrian Control Bank Rudolf Scholten and emphasized the need for the enhancement of collaboration.

The Iranian economy minister pointed to the measures taken in Iran to fight money-laundering and underlined the Economy Ministry's readiness for further cooperation in the specified financial and banking sectors.