Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The governments of Indonesia and Iran have agreed to complete the negotiations on the Indonesia-Iran Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).

The agreement was established by the two countries at the 9th Bilateral Consultation Committee meeting on Monday (July 5), according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The total trade value between Indonesia and Iran increased by 52 percent, from 141.60 million U.S. dollars in 2019 to 215.97 million U.S. dollars in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn.

Various initiatives to strengthen cooperation were also explored by the two delegations at the meeting, which were led by the Director General of Asia Pacific and Africa at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Kadir Jailani, and the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran who also serves as Director General of Asia and Oceania, Reza Zabib.

Reporting by Indonesia Window