Daily Times

Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan, Adam M. Tugio on Sunday said that Pakistan could take full advantage of Indonesia’s US$1 trillion economic market potential, which would increase economic cooperation between the two sides. The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) organized a Pakistan-Indonesia Joint Business Form (JBF) to discuss the potential areas of business cooperation between the two largest Muslim countries.

Adam M.Tugio, Ambassador of Indonesia was the chief guest at the occasion. Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador of Indonesia said that in the US$ 2.9 trillion economic market of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia’s share was $1.1 trillion, thus Pakistan could not only benefit from the Indonesian market, but could also develop its strong economic relations in the ASEAN countries through Indonesia.

The Ambassador said that his country was a gateway for $2.9 trillion economy of ASEAN region and Pakistan should tap it for trade and exports by developing close cooperation with Indonesia. He said that China was enjoying a bilateral trade of around $ 600 billion with ASEAN, but Pakistan-ASEAN bilateral trade was less than 1%, which should be increased to achieve better results.

He stressed for promoting cooperation among women entrepreneurs of Pakistan, Indonesia and ASEAN region that would give boost to trade among these countries. Ambassador Adam said that his embassy was planning to organize a dialogue on economy involving B2B and G2G meetings between the two countries besides holding an exhibition of the products of both countries to highlight their potential for bilateral trade.

The two sides identified many areas including real estate, construction, mines and minerals, textiles, information technology, e-commerce, infrastructure development, tourism, women entrepreneurship, youth development and spices that offered great potential for mutual cooperation between Pakistan and Indonesia. Big brands of real estate sector including J7 Group, Fair Deal, Star Marketing, Elaan Marketing and 5G Group gave presentations of their projects to highlight the potential of JVs and investment for Indonesian investors in them.

Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the Pak-Indonesia combined population was a huge market of around 500 million people, but their bilateral trade of around USD 4 billion was not matching with their actual potential. He stressed for diversification of trade to increase its volume.

President ICCI stressed that both countries should finalize free trade agreement to reduce trade barriers and boost the volume of two-way trade. He underscored the need of regular exchange of trade delegations to explore all untapped areas of mutual cooperation between the two countries. Shehzad Cheema, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Works said that Pakistan was facing a shortage of 7.7 million housing units and Indonesian investors had great potential to invest in Pakistan’s housing sector. He said that his ministry was planning to organize an international expo on housing to attract local and foreign investors.

Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President, and Muhammad Faheem Khan, Vice President ICCI, also spoke at the occasion and said that the geographic locations of Pakistan and Indonesia offered enormous potential for promoting bilateral and regional trade that should be exploited for achieving beneficial outcomes.