Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan, Adam M. Tugio has said that Pakistani businessmen should fully benefit from the US$1.1 trillion economic market potential offered by Indonesia, which could also increase economic cooperation between the two countries. Speaking at a business forum, he said that in the US$ 2.9 trillion economic market of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia's share was $1.1 trillion. So Pakistan could develop its strong economic relations with ASEAN countries through Indonesia, besides benefiting from the Indonesian market, he added.

The Pakistan-Indonesia Joint Business Forum (JBF) was organised by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) to discuss the potential areas of business cooperation between the two largest Muslim nations. Ambassador Adam said that his country was a gateway to the $2.9 trillion economy of the ASEAN region and Pakistan should tap it for trade and exports by developing close cooperation with Indonesia. He stressed the need for promoting cooperation among women entrepreneurs in Pakistan, Indonesia and the ASEAN region to help boost trade among these countries.

Ambassador Adam said that his embassy was planning to organize a dialogue on the economy involving B2B and G2G meetings between the two countries, besides holding an exhibition of the products of both countries to highlight their potential for bilateral trade. The two sides identified many areas including real estate, construction, mines and minerals, textiles, information technology, e-commerce, infrastructure development, tourism, women entrepreneurship, youth development and spices that offered great potential for cooperation between Pakistan and Indonesia.

Big brands of the real estate sector including J7 Group, Fair Deal, Star Marketing, Elaan Marketing and 5G Group gave presentations of their projects to highlight the potential of joint ventures and investment for Indonesian investors in them. Speaking at the occasion, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Muhammad Shakeel Munir said the Pak-Indonesia combined population was a huge market of around 500 million people, but their bilateral trade of around US$ 4 billion did not match their actual potential. He expressed the need for diversification of trade to increase its volume.

The ICCI president stressed that both countries should finalize a free trade agreement to reduce trade barriers and boost the volume of two-way trade. He underscored the need for regular exchange of trade delegations to explore all the untapped areas of cooperation between the two countries. Shehzad Cheema, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Works speaking on the occasion said that Pakistan was facing a shortage of 7.7 million housing units and Indonesian investors had great potential to invest in the Pakistani housing sector. His ministry was planning to organize an international expo on housing to attract local and foreign investors, he added.

Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President, and Muhammad Faheem Khan, Vice President ICCI, also spoke at the occasion and said that the geographic locations of Pakistan and Indonesia offered enormous potential for promoting bilateral and regional trade that should be exploited for achieving beneficial outcomes.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk