Indonesia invites Pakistani exporters,manufacturers to participate in 33rd Trad Expo

MULTAN, Sept 27th: Indonesian Ambassador in Pakistan Iwan Suyudhie Amri has said that we are the biggest exporters of "Kinnow"and  now  we are working to carve out a mutually acceptable mechanism for the export of one million tons of rice from Pakistan to Indonesia by 2019. Addressing the members of Multan  Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) here Thursday,he invited the local manufacturers ,exporters and industrialists to take part in 33rd Trade expo in Indonesia (to be held from Oct 24 to 28) to promote their business because we have decided to grant free visa of 30 days to the traders and visitors of 174 countries. The registered  buyers would bwe welcomed ar Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport.Tracing the relations between the two countries, he said that it was friendly and cordial since the inception of two countries. However, now we should make serious efforts to translate these relations into economic terms. He said that volume of bilateral trade between the two countries is 2.18 billion dollars which is far less than the existing potential however it is maximum in case of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries adding that no doubt the balance of trade is in favour of Indonesia but the real issue is bilateral trade as in case of China-Indonesia trade, it is in favor of China. He said that in bilateral trade, both countries get benefits. However, he thinks that the export form Pakistan should increase to a considerable level. He further said that law and order situation has improved in Pakistan and it will definitely have positive impact on its exports to Indonesia.Quoting CPEC, he said that it will attract foreign investment and all regional countries will enjoy its benefits. He said that Indonesia is a country with huge population of 250 million. "Our domestic market is very strong which has provided us a solid base for speedy economic growth", he added.Regarding Halal food he said, Pakistan is speedily undertaking the process of Halal food certification which will help it to make maximum Halal exports to the Indonesia.Commenting on people to people contacts, he said that Indonesia is offering scholarships to Pakistani students which will bring the both communities closer to each other.Responding to yet another question about health and education related reforms; he said that Indonesia has allocated 20 percent of its budget for education as elementary level education is free. Similarly, cross subsidy is offered in health sector. The rich are charged while the poor are getting free treatment. He hoped that this system will be further improved in the coming years. He also assured to remove the hurdles in the export of rock salt from Pakistan to Indonesia. He paid glowing tribute to deceased former Ambassador of Indonesia Burhan Muhammad who worked hard to bolster the bilateral relations between the two counties. He said that the objective of this visit is to introduce myself and to deliberate on enhancing bilateral trade between the two countries, he added.Earlier in his address of welcome, Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan, President of MCCI underlined the importance of this region and said it produces 96 percent of total production of Punjab province and 70 % of the country. 47 % wheat, 23 % Sugarcane ,50% Livestock, and it produces good quality of mangoes .He said that Trade between Pakistan and the Southeast Asian giant has been growing strongly for the last couple of years. The volume of bilateral trade grew from $700 million in 2010 to $2.3 billion in 2016, up 229%. “Pakistan’s problem is that it is not ready to explore Far-Eastern markets, including Indonesia. Unless, our exporters go for innovation and branding, the situation is not going to change,” said Malik Asrar Ahmed.The two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2005 and the preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2012, which became operational in 2013.Indonesia’s exports to Pakistan increased from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $2.2 billion in 2016-17 while Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia unfortunately declined from $196 million to $137 million.Pakistan’s major exports to Indonesia include textiles and clothing, rice, vegetables and fruits (mainly oranges) while its major import item from Indonesia is palm oil.Commenting on the Indonesian Imports, Begum Romana Tanvir Sheikh Senior Vice President  said although Indonesia is a net producer of Rice yet it imported Rice of 351 million dollars in 2015 but out of this import only 51 million dollars imports were made from Pakistan which were only 14% of the total Indonesian Rice imports. Similarly Indonesia also imported fruits worth 666 million dollars, but again the fruits imported from Pakistan were of 9 million dollars only. He suggested that Indonesia should convince its importers to make maximum imports of these items from Pakistan. Moreover, Indonesia could also import Rock Salt from Pakistan to cater to its needs, he added.In this connection, she stressed direct links between the Business Communities of the two countries in order to fully capitalise the available trade potential between the two countries.Romana further said that Indonesia is a major member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and could also help Pakistan to have access to this 2 Trillion Dollars market. Vicer Chancellor of MNS Agricultural University Prof. Rao Muhammad Asif , Vice President of MCCI Khawaja Muhammad Farooq and Secretary General Khurram Javed also discussed the issued.Later, Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan, Begum Romana Tanvir Sheikh presented MCCI memento to Indonesian Ambassador Iwan Suyudhie Amri while Indonesian ambassador also presented a symbol of Indonesia to Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan  president MCCI.
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