India and Iran on Tuesday agreed to continue their discussions on the matter of settlement of payments for crude oil purchases.

An Iranian delegation led by Dr Hamid Borhani, Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Iran, and the Indian delegation led by Mr R. Gopalan, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, met here for the second consecutive day today to hold talks on the issue.

“Both the sides agreed to continue their engagement in the matter,” said an official release issued late Tuesday. India and Iran are yet to settle on a bank that could clear the payments, sources said.

Iran is the second largest crude oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia.

The issue of payment for the crude oil purchases from Iran came into focus since December last year when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stopped payments to Tehran through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).

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