Boosting The Value Of Economic Cooperation In Europe And America, Indonesia Holds Two Business Forums

Tanjung Perak Port container terminal, Surabaya, East Java. (Wikimedia Commons/Hernawan Widhi)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with related ministries and agencies, wishes to increase the value of economic cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Americas. As well as Eastern and Central Europe on the European Continent.

This was stated by the Director General of America and Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I Gede Ngurah Swajaya in a virtual press conference, Monday, September 20. He said, Indonesia's economic diplomacy continued, amid the COVID-19 pandemic since last year.

"Even in a pandemic condition, because it is a necessity, transactions will still be carried out to fulfill needs. So we will continue to strive to facilitate the interaction of business people in Indonesia with business people in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Americas. As well as Eastern and Central Europe on the European Continent," said Gede Ngurah Swajaya in his statement.

Gede Ngurah Swajaya explained, last year the value of Indonesia's trade with Central and Eastern Europe last year was 6.44 billion US dollars, down 4.4 percent compared to 2019.

However, for the first half of 2021, Indonesia's trade value with the region has increased by 25.13 percent to US$4.229 billion compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's trade value with Latin America and the Caribbean throughout 2020 reached 8.25 billion US dollars, up from 2019 which was 7.75 billion US dollars.

And, for the first half of 2021, the total value of Indonesia's trade with the two countries reached 4.91 billion US dollars, an increase of 13.38 percent compared to the same period last year which was 4.31 billion US dollars.

"For that, we are trying to hold a business forum in these two regions, to continue to explore the potential for economic cooperation. First, we will hold the Indonesia - Central & Eastern Europe (INA-CEE) Business Forum 2021 on October 7, 2021. While the second "We will hold the Indonesia - Latin America & The Caribbean Business Forum 2021 on October 14-15, 2021," he explained.

He added that if this positive trend continues to increase until the end of the year, Indonesia could record a record trade surplus, which has never happened, perhaps for the last 10-15 years. The plan, the two business forums will be held with a hybrid format.

On the same occasion, the Indonesian Ambassador to Argentina Jonny Sinaga revealed that the value of Indonesia's exports in August 2021 had drastically increased to more than US$21 billion. business forum, of course, trying to help increase our exports even in the midst of a pandemic," he explained.

To note, Indonesia's export commodities to Latin America and the Caribbean include vegetable oil, vehicles, electronics, rubber and footwear. Meanwhile, Indonesia's export commodities to Central and Eastern Europe include rubber, palm oil, shoes, fishery products, coffee, furniture, electronics and their components to textiles.