The ambassador said that Azerbaijan is keen to boost trade with Indonesia, as well as seeking fresh investment opportunities in this country’s economy.

At present, bilateral trade between Azerbaijan and Indonesia is carried out through other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey.

Apart from buying more from Indonesia, Azerbaijan is also seeking to export more, which would include agriculture products, such as fruit, vegetables and cotton, and chemicals, he added.

Newly appointed Industry Ministry director general for international industrial security and access development Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono for his part said that Indonesia has an interest in encouraging sales of natural rubber to feed numerous tire factories in Azerbaijan.

In terms of investment, Sigit said, the government would welcome any project to help spur growth in the downstream industry, particularly agriculture-based sectors.

Trade between Indonesia and Azerbaijan has followed an upward trend in the past five years, surging by 21.84 percent on average each year to reach $2.43 billion in 2014. Of that figure, Indonesia’s exports only totaled $5.57 million.