REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister A.M. Fachir emphasized the importance of reviving the spirit of economic cooperation between Indonesia and Iran, especially in the field of trade.

According to a Foreign Affairs Ministry's press release on Monday, Fachir opined that the value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and Iran had yet to reveal its true potential.

"For large countries such as Indonesia and Iran, the trade value of US$2 billion per year is still very small," the deputy foreign affairs minister noted.

Therefore, Fachir affirmed that the two countries should revive their economic cooperation in a bid to increase the value of trade by US$2 billion per year.

He made the statement while receiving a courtesy visit from the Ambassador of the Republic of Iran to Indonesia Valioallah Mohammadi Nasrabadi here, last Friday.

In the meantime, the Iranian ambassador echoed the same commitment from the Government of Iran to again increase the value of trade between the two countries.

Mohammadi stated that one of the ways to increase the value of bilateral trade is by involving the banking sector of both countries to seek a joint solution to the issues of export and import transactions.

According to the ambassador, the value of bilateral trade in 2013 and 2014 reached US$568 million and US$430 million respectively, although the total value in the past was over US$1 billion.

The significant decline in trade value was the result of the cessation of Indonesian oil and gas from Iran following unilateral trade economic sanctions on Iran.

However, the potential for trade between Iran and Indonesia is huge, considering the complementary nature of trade between the two countries.

Iran is a gas and oil rich country and is superior in the areas of energy, infrastructure technology, and manufacturing, but the country needs agricultural and plantation products such as palm oil, tea, and coffee from Indonesia.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika