Indonesia and Pakistan have great potential to improve bilateral cooperation in multiple fields and businessmen of both countries should interact frequently to promote two-way trade, said Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Third Secretary Otto Rakhim Gani and Counsellor Zaenal Abidin during a visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) to congratulate the new office bearers.
The officials said Pakistan and Indonesia have signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which should be operational to realise the full potential of trade relations between the two countries. Pakistani wheat, basmati rice and kinnows were quite popular in Indonesia while many other Pakistani products including quality marble, fruits and vegetables and mangoes have also good potential to penetrate Indonesian market, they observed.
The Indonesian officials said the new leadership of Indonesia was quite enthusiastic to improve trade and economic relations with Pakistan and have planned to organise specialized trade shows, adding that Pakistani businessmen should participate in these trade shows to explore new business opportunities in Indonesia. They assured that Indonesian Embassy would like to work closely with ICCI to further strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI Senior Vice President Muhammad Shakeel Munir and Vice President Muhammad Ashfaq Hussain Chattha said that Indonesia was a huge consumers market and Pakistani businessmen wanted to promote business relations with Indonesia. They said Indonesia should grant at least three to six months multiple entry business visas to Pakistani businessmen to tap all untapped areas of mutual cooperation.
They said the present government was focused on improving energy and infrastructure development and Indonesian investors should come to Pakistan to explore opportunities for investment and joint ventures in Pakistan.
