Jakarta (ANTARA) - The governments of Indonesia and Iran agreed to collaborate on 10 issues, including trade and culture, on Tuesday.

At a joint press conference held by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi at Bogor Presidential Palace, Bogor city, West Java province, memorandums of understanding (MoUs) concerning 2 out of the 10 issues were shown.

The MoUs cover the eradication of the illegal trade of narcotics, psychotropic substances, and their precursors and a preferential trade agreement (PTA).

The remaining issues include science, technology, and innovation development; halal product guarantee; energy sector development; as well as pharmaceutical, biological, traditional medicine, cosmetics, and processed food product regulations.

The two countries have also agreed to cooperate on visa exemption for diplomatic and service passport holders, mutual administrative assistance in customs, trade promotion, as well as cultural exchange programs.

Furthermore, the Indonesian President said that the two countries will cooperate on a telerobotic surgery pilot project.

A bilateral pilot project on telemedicine devices has been running at 11 community health centers (puskesmas) in Indonesia, he noted.

The two countries will also collaborate in technology transfer and joint production with state-owned enterprises as well as in biotechnology and nanotechnology development to improve the health, energy, agriculture, and environment sectors, he informed.

According to a statement published on the Presidential Secretariat’s website, both governments have also explored the development of a business-to-business (B2B) agreement, as well as investment cooperation for the new Indonesian capital’s (IKN’s) establishment and the oil and gas sector.

Widodo said he also expects the two countries to realize cooperation in research, technology transfer, and the assembly of railway signal systems.

Raisi is on his first visit to Indonesia since taking over as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2021. He is making the visit at the official invitation of President Widodo.

In addition to meeting Widodo, he will meet with a number of Indonesian government officials, academics, and business players on May 23 and 24, 2023.

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Translator: Mentari Gayati, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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