Indonesian Ambassador Anwar Santoso has invited Pakistani businessmen to take the initiative and invest in various economic sectors in Indonesia, as Pakistani products have a good market there and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) should motivate its members to pay attention to enhance trade with Indonesia.
The envoy was speaking at a one-day seminar on "Enhancing Economic and Trade Co-operation between Pakistan-Indonesia Based on Trust and Mutual Benefit" here on Tuesday.
LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Honorary Consul General in Lahore Jamil A. Naz, Mustafa Kemal, chairman, Exporters Association of Indonesia; Deddy Bintang Purwadi, general secretary, Importers Association of Indonesia, former LCCI senior vice-president Sohail Lashari were also present on the occasion.
Anwar Santoso said that Indonesia as an integrated market provides enormous potential for Pakistani businessmen with its liberal trade and investment policies. "This is the right time to accelerate efforts to expand and explore new areas of co-operation," he added.
The envoy said that realising the importance of Pakistan as a big emerging market in the South Asian region, the Indonesian corporate sector keen to further expand its trade relations in all the fields with the Pakistani businessmen. Punjab is one of the most modern industrial cities of Pakistan. The cities like Lahore, Sialkot, Gujrat and Gujranwala are playing a key role in the economy of Pakistan since they generate a big amount of income and revenue for the national exchequer with their huge exports.
The diplomat said that economic ties and bilateral co-operation between Indonesia and Pakistan have continued to strengthen over the years, supported by the state visit of respective presidents and by various bilateral agreements.
Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI chief said although the trade between Pakistan and Indonesia has been gradually growing from $228 million in 1999-2000 to $645 million in 2004-05, it is still at a very low level in view of the size of the markets of the two countries.
He said Pakistan has always experienced a deficit balance of trade with Indonesia. "Pakistan exports to Indonesia need to be increased to create a win-win situation for both countries," he added.
He said that keeping in view the market potential of the two countries a lot of progress could be made on trade front through boosting the existing trade and identification of new tradable items between the two countries. "To cater to the requirements of Pakistani market, rubber and rubber products and accessories of motor vehicles could be exported by Indonesia, whereas Pakistan has a comparative advantage in textile, surgical instruments, leather products, sports goods, some fruits and vegetables, rice, etc, which could be exported to Indonesia on a large scale," he added.
According to him, the establishment of a joint business forum comprising representatives of chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries with enhanced business to business contacts could give a boost to the bilateral trade.
He said the diplomatic missions of the two countries need to explore areas of trade and co-operation between the two countries and actively engage themselves with the respective governments and business community to promote trade between the two countries.
"There is a lot of scope for Indonesia to make investment in Pakistan. Indonesia has a fairly advanced petro-chemical, rubber, plywood, telecommunication and tourism industry. It could make direct investment in these industries and can also enter into joint ventures with Pakistani businessmen."
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