Indonesian Envoy Bats For Fostering Stronger Bilateral Ties With India In Trade And Investment

Indonesia's Ambassador to India Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi on Wednesday expressed her country's commitment to fostering stronger bilateral ties with New Delhi in trade and investment.

With Indonesia's special focus on its Special Economic Zone Sei Mangkei, she highlighted the investment opportunities in the SEZ.

At a session held on "Opportunities to Invest in Special Economic Zone Sei Mangkei" at the CII Northern region headquarters here, Krisnamurthi highlighted investments from Indian investors worth USD 198 million in the SEZ.

According to a CII statement, the bilateral trade between the two nations has reached USD 38.84 billion, positioning Indonesia as India's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia for the 2022-23 period.

This robust trade relationship is underpinned by the investments made by more than 40 Indian companies to date in various sectors such as rubber, plastics, chemicals, textiles, and FMCG within Indonesia, it said.

Krisnamurthi expressed her country's commitment to fostering stronger bilateral ties in trade and investment through the motto 'Toward Golden Indonesia 2045 - realizing a sovereign, advanced, and sustainable nation through investment'.

She stated, "We're ready to support and facilitate any inbound investment to Indonesia and outbound investment. This showcases the stronger bilateral commitment in investment, trade, and economy between our two great nations."

"Furthermore, SEZ Sei Mangkei stands out as one of the best investment destinations in Indonesia, and we encourage businesses to make full use of its potential," she said.

Edward Samantha, Director, PT Kawasan Industri Nusantara (KINRA) in North Sumatra, Indonesia, a state-owned enterprise responsible for developing the Sei Mangkei SEZ, emphasized Indonesia's commitment to promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) enhancement by establishing the SEZ.

"With the SEZ capacity we have, abundant incentives will become the major booster for the industry's development, thus unleashing the maximum potential of each industry," he said.

Highlighting CII's efforts to boost bilateral trade, Vivek Gupta, Chairman – CII Chandigarh chapter, said, "CII has been engaging with Indonesia across areas, assisting businesses from both countries to engage and collaborate."

As part of its initiative to facilitate members in their engagement with emerging economies, CII had opened its latest overseas office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 5, 2019. Inaugurated by S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, the office became functional in January 2020.

Gupta further highlighted the potential for expanding trade in the areas of automotive components, agricultural commodities, engineering products, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors, agriculture machinery, textile machinery etc. in the Sei Mangkei SEZ.