TEHRAN (Iran News) – Tehran, Jakarta Economies Complementary. Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, industry, Mine and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Mr. Gholam-Hossein Shafei in meeting with Ambassador of Indonesia to Tehran Mr. Ronny Prasetyo Yuliantoro said economies of Iran and Indonesia are complementary and called for broadening bilateral cooperation.
In the meeting which was arranged at Mashhad Chamber of Commerce where some economic activists of Indonesia and Iran where present, Shafei said Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world and it has a stable and developed economy and it enjoys an important place in the world economic and political relations, adding that Iran considers Indonesia as a good opportunity for entering the ASEAN market.
He noted that both countries fortunately enjoy having valuable political relations but he believes both countries have not taken advantage of their economic capacities. He called the economic potentials of the country complementary and called the mentioned capacity a good opportunity for defining joint co-operations and noted some of the goods being produced in Indonesia are needed in Iran and in return some of Iranian products have good markets in Indonesia.
Shafei added that for example two products of saffron and precious stones from Khorasan Razavi can be welcomed by the Indonesians and currently Iran and Khorasan’s turquoise has customers in Indonesia.
He then pointed to the economic potentials of Khorasan Razavi Province and stipulated that the strategic location of this region has caused that major parts of east-bound exports or transit of goods of Iran are done via Khorasan Razavi Province.
Shafei noted that Mashhad itself for the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS) hosts 30m tourists mainly religious tourists annually and the tourism potentials of this city have valuable potentials for attracting international tourists from Muslim states in the East Asia.
He expressed hope this visit of ambassador to Mashhad to be an opening for cooperation between Iran and Indonesia and invited the members of Indonesia’s Chamber of Commerce to visit Iran.
Shafei then pointed to the role of ambassadors in strengthening the economic relations and said despite good economic relations between the two states, the economic activists of the two countries are unaware of the potentials and capacities for cooperation, and exchange of trade delegations and holding joint economic events can boost information and acquaintance of the economic activists with economic capacities of the two states.
Then Indonesian Ambassador Yuliontoro, for his part, said that Indonesia is also keen to develop economic relations with Iran because there are huge potentials in the economic sector of the two countries and all should work to improve it.
He also called for holding a joint webinar between the chambers of commerce of Iran and Indonesia and said Indonesia is keen to study fields for the joint investments and to prepare the ground for the cooperation of the private sectors of the two countries in those fields.
He also said that tourism and halal products that Indonesia is one of the biggest producers and exporters are of good examples for these good potentials.
