President Highlights Iran, Indonesia’s Common Views on Regional, Int’l Issues

Before the start of his two-day official visit to Indonesia, the Iranian president talked to reporters at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Monday evening about the plans and goals of this trip, pointing out that this trip is being made at the invitation of the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo.

"Indonesia is an important country in Southeast Asia and has an important position in regional and international arrangements".

The president also pointed to Indonesia's membership in ASEAN, non-aligned countries, D8 and Organization of Islamic Cooperation and added, "Indonesia, as the most populous Muslim country, has deep and long-standing relations with the Islamic Republic. In addition to the diplomatic relations between the two countries since 70 years ago, deep cultural and historical relations have also been established between the two nations, which go back to the beliefs of the two nations".

Describing the importance of the cultural and spiritual bond between Iran and Indonesia, which has also connected East and West Asia, Raisi said, "Today, Tehran and Jakarta have good relations, and the economic and commercial interactions between the two countries are also significant, but this level of commercial and economic cooperation is definitely not acceptable for the two countries and it can be upgraded to a higher level according to mutual capacities".

Referring to the plan of the 13th Administration for comprehensive communication with all Asian countries, the President stated, "Based on this plan, we should define broader relations with Indonesia as a very important country with a privileged position in Southeast Asia, and I hope this trip will be a turning point on the way to develop mutual relations".

In another part of his speech, Raisi stated that in addition to the official meetings with Indonesian political and economic officials, he will have meetings with high officials in the fields of science and religion and memorandums in science and technology will be signed, the president.ir website reported.

The president also pointed to the signing of memorandums of understanding in economic, commercial, customs, transit, cultural and health fields during this trip and said, "Iran and Indonesia have common views on regional and international issues. Both countries are against unilateralism and in favor of sustainable peace and security in the region, and these common views bring the two countries closer together".

Raisi expressed hope that this trip will be a turning point for the development of relations between Iran and Indonesia.