TEHRAN-Iran’s Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyebnia and his Indonesian counterpart Bambang Brodjonegoro in a Tuesday meeting in Jakarta conferred on enhancement of bilateral banking ties, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

The two sides underscored the development of bilateral economic relations specifically in Iran’s post-sanctions era and called for soothing future banking transactions between Iranian and Indonesian economic activists.

Criticizing the low volume of economic ties between the two countries during the recent years due to unfair anti-Iranian sanctions, Tayyebnia, said that the bilateral trade volume used to stand at $2 billion but the figure has unfortunately slipped to one tenth.

The Iranian finance minister, who arrived in Jakarta on Monday to attend the meeting of the board of governors of Islamic Development Bank, noted that the Iranian administration is aimed at boosting economic cooperation with the world, especially Muslim countries including Indonesia and plans to experience a 10-fold rise in trade with the south-eastern Asian country in future.

The Indonesian minister, for his part, agreed with Tayyebnia's remarks about the low volume of mutual ties during western-led sanctions and said both countries’ officials are exploring the avenues to remove the impediments on the way to increase mutual transactions.

Brodjonegoro, for his part, stated that the only way to facilitate development of ties is establishing direct banking relations between Iran and Indonesia, adding that his government supports expansion of banking ties and will provide the state-run and private banks with proper information on safe banking ties.

Meanwhile, he said that Indonesia plans to purchase crude oil from Iran and make investments for construction of a refinery in the country with Iranian crude oil as the feedstock.

He suggested that Iranian and Indonesia industry owners and traders can have a meeting to get acquainted with each other’s capacities and potentials to improve economic cooperation. 

HJ/MA