Jakarta seeks to boost bilateral trade with Thailand

UMESH PANDEY, The Bangkok Post

Indonesia, which was one of the worst affected countries by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, has emerged as one of the strongest in the region with robust economic growth, one of the world's best-performing stock markets and now with a plan to become among the most attractive investment destinations.

"We want more Thai companies to look at opportunities in Indonesia, we want to see trade flows between the two countries increase far more than what we currently have," said Ibrahim Yusuf, the Indonesian ambassador to Thailand.

Yusuf: "Let us work hand in hand"

"Let us work hand in hand to turn the vast economic potential of both countries into reality," he said at a recent seminar in Bangkok.

Indonesia has seen two-way trade with Thailand grow at a rapid pace, although both sides believe that more can be achieved.

Bilateral trade in the first 11 months of 2206 was $6.12 billion, against $7.13 billion for all of 2005, $5.53 billion in 2004 and $4.02 billion in 2003.

"Observing the upward trend of trade volume in the past four years, I believe that we could optimistically set the projection that in 2010 the volume of trade could reach $10 billion," Mr Yusuf said.

But he said that to achieve that figure in such a short time, the government and private sector would need to work hard and in close collaboration.

A joint trade subcommittee is being considered to help both countries plot strategy and growth projections.

Mr Yusuf said that apart from trade, investments from Thailand have shown tremendous growth - to $123.9 million as of October last year, the highest level since the economic crisis.

"However, I believe that the existing amount of investment has not fully reflected the real economic potential of both countries," he said.

"There is still plenty of room available to be developed for investment, for instance in the fishery sector."

Thailand, which has strengths in fisheries, could help Indonesia develop the industry across the Indonesian archipelago of 17,000 island.

"Indonesia is an archipelagic country with abundant marine fisheries resources, while Thailand has great potential in capital, technology and human resources in this sector," Mr Yusuf said.

He added that joint ventures in integrated fishing and processing activities in Indonesia had potential to yield high returns.

Further industry co-operation is also possible in marketing, training, aquaculture and fish processing and canning based on the complementary skills of the two countries, he said.

Indonesia's population of 240 million can also offer huge potential for Thai companies looking to sell to the domestic market, he said, as the purchasing power and eating habits of local people would change as the middle class expands.