Iran is determined to reach a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Indonesia, head of Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), Valiollah Afkhamirad, said on Saturday, addressing a meeting with an Indonesian economic delegation, ISNA reported.
The idea of a PTA between Iran and Indonesia was first proposed in 2005. Several trade agreements have been signed between the two sides ever since, however they have not been followed through. The reason that is often cited for the failure is the sanctions imposed by the West on Iran’s economy over the country’s nuclear energy program.
However, encouraged by the prospect of a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 by the end of June, an Indonesian delegation, headed by Indonesian Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil, is on an official visit to Iran, hoping to revive the pending agreements already reached between the two countries.
The value of trade between Iran and Indonesia has declined to $450 million from $2 billion in 2010, said Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Va’ezi, in a meeting with Indonesian Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil on Saturday.
