Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran and Indonesia have agreed to establish a joint commerce chamber, the Fars News Agency quoted Iran's chamber of commerce chairman Gholamhossein Shafei as saying on February 12.
Shafei leads a delegation of Iranian businessmen, banking, and insurance officials to Indonesia.
The joint commerce chamber will establish offices both in Tehran and Jakarta, Shafei said.
Iran and Indonesia discuss preliminary measures which are necessary to be taken to ink a preferential trade by the two countries, IRNA reported on November 17.
The two sides started talks for signing a preferential trade a couple of years ago, Reza Abbasqoli, an official at the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran said.
Iran-Indonesia trade hit $1.132 billion in 2012, of which $597 million was Iran's exports to Indonesia.
Iran imported liquefied propane, urea, gas turbines, bitumen, lead, and tea to Indonesia, while imported paper, home appliance, coal, and drilling equipment.
In August, the Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian trade minister Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh as saying that trade between Iran and Indonesia could be tripled.
Currently, the bilateral trade stands at $1.3 billion annually, the minister said.
Indonesia can take advantage of investing in Iran's oil and gas projects, he added.
In May, Iran and Indonesia signed a trade agreement in a bid to boost bilateral trade.
In February, Indonesian Ambassador to Tehran Dian Wirengjurit said Jakarta pays no attention to sanctions imposed on the Iranian oil sector, saying it will have no effect on Indonesia's oil purchase from Iran.