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Government wants direct payment method for Indonesia-Iran trade deals
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All smiles: Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Valiollah Mohammadi Nasrabadi (left) shakes hands with Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil during a celebration for the 38th anniversary of the Iranian revolution at the ambassador’s residence in Jakarta on Thursday on Feb. 9. (JP/Tama Salim) (JP/Tama Salim)
T
he government is seeking a bilateral agreement with Iran to establish a direct payment method in trade deals without having to use the banking services of the third countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Malaysia.
"The payment method is the main problem," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement recently..
The government, therefore, expects the country's financial regulators, Bank Indonesia and the Financial Services Authority [OJK], to make an agreement with Iran's banking sector to simplify the payment method for import-export activities between the two countries.
(Read also: Indonesia, Iran pledge to improve cooperation)
Airlangga said Iran could be a hub to facilitate the penetration of Indonesian products into markets in Central Asia and the Middle East. Indonesia sells natural rubber, palm oil, paper, tires and chemical products to Iran.
"Indonesian imports steel, petrochemicals, minerals and raw materials for synthetic fiber, from Iran," the minister said, adding that the trade volume between the two countries reached US$330 million in 2016, a jump from $270 million in the previous year. (dan)
