Meeting Puan, President Ebrahim Praises Iran-RI's Closeness Based On Hearts Not Just Diplomacy

JAKARTA - To the President of Iran, Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, DPR Speaker Puan Maharani emphasized the importance of increasing Indonesia-Iran cooperation in various fields.

Arriving at the DPR Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday afternoon, President Ebrahim was greeted by Puan. President Ebrahim was accompanied by a number of Iranian delegates. Starting from Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian, Iranian Minister of Technology, Information and Communication Isa Zarepour and Iranian Minister of Oil Javad Owji.

Bilateral meetings were held in Abdul Muis Room, Kura-kura Building, Parliament Complex. Puan was accompanied by Deputy Speaker of the DPR Lodewijk F Paulus and Deputy Chairman of Commission I DPR RI Utut Adianto.

Puan's meeting with President Ebrahim was warm. Puan recounted the history of the DPR Building which was built by Indonesia's first President, Sukarno, especially the Turtle Building, which was the location of the meeting.

Puan also mentioned her meeting with the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Baqer Qalibaf, on the sidelines of the 17th Parliamentary Union Member Organization (OKI) or Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (PUIC) which was held in Algeria, last January.

Iran is one of Indonesia's main political partners, at the regional and international levels since 1950. The main focus of relations when explained by Indonesia-Iran is apart from women's empowerment, namely in terms of health, science and technology (Iptek), economy-trade, and cooperation in creating stability in the Persian Gulf.

Puan also encouraged the issue of strengthening bilateral relations in the fields of economy, trade and investment. Given, in 2022 the total trade between the two countries reached 257.2 million US dollars. This total increased 25 percent compared to 2021 which was worth 208.9 million US dollars.

"I am also pushing for an increase in trade between the two countries through the ratification of the RI-Iran Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) negotiations," explained Puan.

To note, Indonesia's main exports to Iran include palm oil, paper and paper products, wooden boards, spare parts of bath soap and rubber gas turbines. Meanwhile, Indonesia's main imports from Iran include LPG, benchmark, asphalt, petroleum jelly, paraffin wax, and dates.

Regarding the issue of payment, currently the two countries are receiving sanctions from the west. Therefore, according to Puan, a payment mechanism is needed in the local currency or Local Currency Settlement.

Furthermore, Puan supports improving relations between the people of Indonesia and Iran so that they can continue to be developed for the common progress and for the welfare of the people of the two countries.

"The relationship between the younger generation is an investment for the close relations between Indonesia and Iran in the future," said Puan.

In the field of science and technology, the 2 Honoris Doctor's degree winners stated that Indonesia has a National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) which can be a driving force for cooperation in science and technology between the two countries. Puan hopes that there will be further cooperation between Indonesia and Iran in this field.

"Education cooperation also plays an important role in developing this research and technology cooperation context," he explained.

Puan also hopes that President Ebrahim will support the cooperation between the Indonesian parliament and the Iranian parliament in dealing with various global problems. According to him, the two countries need to work together to create world peace and reduce tensions in areas such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The parliament of the two countries as guardians of democracy can exchange ideas in an effort to maintain the running of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in our respective countries," explained Puan.

Bung Karno's grandson also welcomed the election of the Iranian Parliament with the Indonesian House of Representatives as a Member of the Ad Hoc of the PUIC Muslim Minority Commission who was tasked with dealing with minority Muslim challenges around the world, including the issue of Islamophobia.

Puan hopes that Indonesia and Iran will continue to support each other in international parliamentary forums, especially at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and the Non-Alignment Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM-PN).

For this year, the Indonesian House of Representatives holds the chairmanship of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) where the AIPA General Assembly will be held in August 2023 in Jakarta. Puan invited Iran to participate.

"As President of AIPA, I am ready to get input from Iran in an effort to achieve regional and global peace and prosperity," he said.

Through this bilateral meeting, Puan hopes that the DPR can contribute to efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, including inter-Parliamentary relations.

"The DPR can help implement international agreements approved by the governments of Indonesia and Iran. So that international agreements can be implemented in direct impact on the community," said Puan.

Meanwhile, President Ebrahim said he was happy to come to the DPR RI. He also invited Puan and the DPR delegation to visit Iran.

"I am proud to be able to meet representatives of the Indonesian people. The government may change but relations between the people of Indonesia and Iran must always last," said President Ebrahim.

To Puan, President Ebrahim stated that Indonesia and Iran have a special relationship.

"He stated that the relationship between Indonesia and Iran was based on the heart, not just diplomacy," said Puan after the meeting.

He added that the meeting of the Iranian Presidential delegation with the DPR agreed to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. Puan hopes that this bilateral meeting can improve relations between Indonesia and Iran to make it better, closer, and increase the volume of trade.

"Not only in the economic field, but also in health, mining, education, community relations, and others," he said.

In addition to agreeing to increase cooperation in various fields, the meeting between Puan and President Ebrahim also agreed on supporting parliamentary cooperation to encourage agreements between the Iranian government and the Indonesian government.

"In the future, we agree that the two countries will jointly support peace, not only in the region, but also in the world," said Puan.

Before meeting Puan, Iranian President Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi together with First Lady Jamileh Alamolhoda and all delegates were received by President Joko Widodo at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Tuesday (23/5) morning. There are a number of cooperation agreements between countries resulting from the meeting of the 2 presidents