Indonesia to launch direct banking coop. with Iran

TEHRAN, Dec. 19 (MNA) – Indonesia Eximbank CEO announced that his institution will begin direct banking cooperation with Iran in near future. Ngalim Sawega made the remarks on the sidelines of a joint trade conference between Iran and Indonesia adding “Iran’s monetary transactions are currently being carried out through a third-party country, a fact which makes the process costly and time-consuming.” The official however noted that direct banking cooperation will soon begin between the two sides. Sawega said his bank is ready to resume banking interactions with Iran within the framework of mutual agreement between Indonesia Eximbank and Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) in a bid to further develop trade ties between the two states. On earlier ties with EDBI, the official underlined that the Indonesian bank had annual meetings with senior officials of the Iranian institution given that EDBI was an observer member of Asian EXIM Banks Forum (AEBF). Sawega referred to the fight against terrorism and money laundering as the moves which will facilitate banking relations. On the possible impact of the policies of the US President-elect Donald Trump on banking ties with Iran, the official said they will not affect relations with Iran as long as those ties are under the regulations. He went on to maintain that his Indonesia Eximbank, in the first place, is willing to offer financial support for exports of goods to Iran. Iran-Indonesia trade conference was held last week in Tehran with presence of heads of Iranian and Indonesian chambers of commerce, 46 representatives of Indonesian companies as well as Iran’s private sector activists. A total of five cooperation agreements were inked between Tehran and Jakarta for reinvigoration banking and stocks relations, paper purchase, crude oil sales and imports of foodstuff. During the first seven months of the Iranian calendar year (began March 20, 2016), Iran exported different products to Indonesia about 73.717 million dollars and in the meantime imported products worth around 82.908 million dollars.