Iran, Indonesia sign trade agreement

Iran and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual trade cooperation. The MoU was signed during a meeting between Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Hamid Safdel and Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs Yuri Octavian Thamrin earlier this week. Octavian Thamrin, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran on a three-day visit starting on Monday to attend the fifth meeting of Iran-Indonesia Political Consultative Committee. The Indonesian deputy foreign minister also met with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araqchi and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi during his stay in Tehran. Then the Iranian and Indonesian delegations headed by the two deputy foreign ministers discussed bilateral relations in different political, economic and cultural fields and exchanged views over major regional and international developments. Iranian and Indonesian officials have on many occasions stressed their resolve to expand bilateral relations and mutual cooperation in different fields. Late in February 2012, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty M. Natalegawa in a meeting with Salehi underscored the importance of the expansion of his country's ties with Iran, and called for the development of Tehran-Jakarta relations in line with the two nations' common interests. During the meeting which was held on the sidelines of the 19th meeting of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the two top diplomats discussed the latest developments in the relations between the two countries in different fields.