JEDDAH, 30 September 2004 — Work is in progress for hosting the Saudi-Indonesian Joint Economic Commission meeting in Riyadh. “The meeting has to be held next year, possibly early in 2005,” Indonesia’s Minister of Industry and Trade Rini M. Sumarno Soewandi told a press conference here yesterday. The last meeting of the joint commission was held in Jakarta two years ago.
Reviewing her three-day tour of Riyadh and Jeddah, the minister said the purpose of her first had been served. “I came with a delegation of 35 businessmen, five of them women, and they all return fully satisfied with the vast potential that exists in the Kingdom for trade and investment. Their one-to-one meetings also explored prospects of Saudi investment in various sectors in Indonesia,” said Soewandi, who was accompanied by Muhammad M. Basyuni, ambassador for Saudi Arabia and Oman, and Consul General Tajuddien Noor.
During her meetings at the chambers of commerce in Riyadh and Jeddah, she invited the business community to visit her country, especially at the time of the upcoming annual export expo in Jakarta.
The visiting Indonesian trade mission discussed with local businessmen the prospects of setting up joint venture plants in the textile and readymade garment sector. “Such a plant here can act as a hub for exporting finished textiles and garments to many countries,” she said.
One other purpose of the mission has been to take advantage of the Kingdom’s ongoing move for privatization. Indonesia has a vast reservoir of expertise both in terms of technologies and technologists, and it is targeting a bigger share of the local market.
The Islamic Development Bank, with which she had a meeting here on Tuesday, has advanced $200,000 for conducting a study on the conversion of the country’s plant that manufactures aircraft.
“It has been manufacturing propeller-driven aircraft. The IDB’s assistance is meant to convert the plant into one that manufactures jets,” she said, adding that she had also urged the IDB to consider funding for the expansion of existing plants in Indonesia that manufacture components for Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
“Overseas demand for such components is increasing and we’ve approached the IDB to advance $50 million for this,” she said. The IDB, on its part, has decided to send a team to Indonesia to study this project, she added.
The IDB has in the past 20 years advanced $1 billion to Indonesia for its infrastructure development that includes electricity, water and hospitals.
