Iran, Indonesia Weigh Plans to Broaden Trade Ties

Ranking diplomats from Iran and Indonesia explored avenues for the expansion of commercial and economic relations between the two Muslim nations.

In a Monday meeting in Tehran, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi and Desra Percaya, the director general for Asia, Pacific, and Africa in Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, called for efforts to promote economic and trade interaction between the two countries.

Highlighting the issues of common interest between Tehran and Jakarta and the great potential for closer cooperation, Sarmadi said the two sides should employ all of their capacities to enhance bilateral trade ties.

He also stressed the need for close coordination to contribute to peace and calm in the Muslim world, particularly in the Middle East and East Asia.

For his part, the visiting Indonesian official hailed Iran’s active partnership in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) summit in March, and praised Tehran for supporting his country’s non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council.

The meeting came on the same day that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi met on the sidelines of the 72nd regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In that meeting, Zarif and Marsudi focused on Tehran-Jakarta bilateral ties, and on ways to deliver humanitarian aid to the persecuted Muslim people of Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of whom have crossed into Bangladesh since late August to escape an ongoing military crackdown.