BOGOR, Indonesia (Dispatches) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, on Tuesday on a visit aimed at strengthening economic ties between the two Muslim-majority nations amid heightened global geopolitical tensions.
Widodo hosted Raisi at the colonial-style presidential palace in Bogor, just outside the capital, Jakarta. Raisi is visiting at Widodo’s invitation as Indonesia aims to speed up its post-pandemic economic recovery by increasing exports.
The two-day visit is expected to deepen Iran’s ties with Indonesia after the two nations concluded negotiations this month on a Preferential Trade Agreement. The two presidents witnessed the signing of that pact and 10 other agreements Tuesday.
Widodo, speaking after a signing ceremony that was streamed online by his cabinet secretariat, hoped the agreement “would increase trade between Indonesia and Iran”.
“With this PTA, we hope to widen our market reach and export opportunities in the Middle East and Persia,” said Johni Martha, the director of bilateral negotiations at Indonesia’s Trade Ministry.
At a joint news conference after meeting with Raisi, Widodo said they discussed expanding export opportunities in the Middle East and Iran and opportunities for Iranian businesses to invest in the development of Indonesia’s new capital on Borneo island.
Raisi said the countries hope to raise the value of their two-way trade to $20 billion.
Bilateral trade increased by more than 23% last year to $257.2 million, according to Indonesia’s Trade Ministry.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is seeking new markets for its exports to reduce its reliance on traditional trading partners, many of which have been affected by the weakened global economy and geopolitical risks. Iran is a nontraditional trade partner for Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
Raisi said his country has attained “remarkable development” in its economy, science and technology despite decades of U.S. government sanctions.
“The numerous documents that we signed today showed the will of the two countries to develop relations in all situations despite of threats and sanctions by the enemies,” Raisi said.
“We believe that sanctions and threats cannot stop us in any way,” Raisi said. “Cooperation and
communication with neighboring countries, Muslim nations and countries that are aligned with us is our priority.”
The two presidents said they also discussed heightened geopolitical tensions in many parts of the world and agreed to continue their support for Palestinians and education for women and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
Indonesian trade ministry official Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono said the two countries had agreed on a “countertrade” scheme in which goods and services can be exchanged “without being constrained by scarcity or currency difficulties”.
Djatmiko told reporters on Monday Indonesia is keen to boost trade with the Middle East and the surrounding region.
“Iran could be a gateway to the surrounding region, such as Central Asia ... or even to Turkey because we do not have any trade deal with Turkey yet,” he said.
Under Tuesday’s agreement, Iran would give Indonesia greater access to products like processed food and pharmaceuticals, textile, palm oil, coffee and tea, while Indonesia will lower tariffs for Iran’s oil and chemical products, metals and some dairy products.
In February, Raisi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to seek further cooperation following a September meeting in Uzbekistan, when Xi underscored China’s support for Iran.
Both China and Iran have projected themselves alongside Russia as a counterweight to American power.
While in Indonesia, Raisi was scheduled to meet with House Speaker Puan Maharani, religious figures and businesspeople. He also planned to visit Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, and give lectures at an Islamic university.
Widodo’s last trip to Iran was in 2016, while the last official state visit from Iran was in 2015, when then-President Hassan Rouhani attended the 50th commemoration of the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung city.
Need for Muslim Unity
President Raisi later met a group of Indonesians at the Islamic Center of Jakarta, where he pointed to Islam’s call for unity and described unity and cohesion as two strategies used by the Islamic ummah against the enemies’ divisive policies.
“Muslim countries ... should have very close relations with each other,” he said.
“The enemy, once with the creation of Daesh, another time through the media empire, and once by insulting the Holy Prophet, etc. looks for disunity in the Islamic ummah.”
The president said, “With the rise of emerging powers, the era of the U.S. dominance and the hegemonic system has come to an end.”
“Western countries and America are not looking for democracy, they are looking for hegemony and plundering the wealth of nations,” he added.