ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Sunday hinted at holding a trade conference in Indonesia in coming months to enhance the business and trade cooperation between the two potential trade partners to connect with the global value chain.
Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Pakistan, Adam Mulawarman Tugio on Sunday described the proposal as workable and an important step towards trade and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Indonesia emerged as the only economy of US$ 1 trillion in ASEAN and Islamic world and both the countries have great potential for cooperation in all fields including tourism, trade, e-commerce and defense.
The Ambassador said that Pakistani businessmen should play their due role in promoting trade and investment in emerging Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets like Indonesia.
In the US$ 1 trillion annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) market of Indonesia, there are ample opportunities for the Pakistani business community for trade and investment to enhance the bilateral business ties with Indonesian traders, which could benefit the business community of both countries, he said.
He said Pakistan and Indonesia have great potential for cooperation in all fields including tourism, trade, textiles, auto mobile, pharmaceutical and e-commerce.
The envoy said that Indonesia has a rich culture of tourism and hospitality and the government wants to increase this sector to 10% of the annual national income, but due to the current wave of COVID- 19,”We have not been able to achieve our targets in the tourism sector, which we are trying our best to meet.” Indonesia has Bali and other beautiful islands, which are the center of world tourism.
He said that there are many attractive opportunities for people going to Indonesia for tourism from Pakistan. All tourism facilities in Indonesia including cheap hotel accommodation are affordable and suitable for foreign tourists, he said.
Indonesia can also share experiences with Pakistanis such as promoting its tourism and in this regard new avenues of cooperation can be opened between the two countries. He said that Pakistan and Indonesia are among the most beautiful countries in the world and both countries can benefit from each other’s experiences.
He said that the automobile sector in Indonesia is doing a lot of work in car production and Indonesia is also exporting cars and other small vehicles. In this regard, a lot of work is being done in the automobile sector with the cooperation of Japan, in which cooperation with Pakistan may increase in the near future.
“In the pharmaceutical sector, Indonesia buys its raw materials from the local market, so there is no issue of cost of doing business and our pharmaceutical products are cheaper than other countries,” he said. The Pakistani pharmaceutical sector in this regard can work in the Indonesian market in this sector and it can open new avenues of cooperation.
He said that the huge market of ASEAN countries with a population of 650 million has huge economic opportunities for Pakistan. which are being discussed in both the countries.
With online connections and a boost in Information Technology (IT), young people from both the countries benefit from each other’s experiences and skills to promote economic and cultural integration.
The Ambassador said that Pakistan and Indonesia are countries with large youth populations that can make their mark in the global e-commerce trade and create vast employment opportunities in both the countries.
He said Indonesia has set a US$50 billion e-commerce trade target by 2025 to connect with the biggest sector of global trade.
Ambassador said that Pakistan and Indonesia can be linked with e-commerce trade to increase bilateral trade as well as connect both sides’ youth in connection of business and trade.
Discussing the cultural and educational ties between the two countries, he said 11 percent of scholarships were awarded to Pakistani students this year, which was 52 percent of developing countries. He said this year 60 Pakistani students went to Indonesian universities to study.
He said that Pakistan and Indonesia have historical religious, political, diplomatic and economic ties, which can be used to further strengthen economic and trade ties between the two countries.
President RCCI, Chaudhry Nadeem A. Rauf called for enhanced cooperation between Pakistan and Indonesia in various sectors including Pharmaceuticals and automobiles and called for enhanced cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.
Group Leader RCCI, Sohail Altaf on the occasion said that there was a need for exchange of business delegations between Pakistan and Indonesia in order to increase bilateral trade and investment opportunities.