Indonesia will take full advantage of this Sunday’s visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lure more Japanese investors to do business in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
According to schedule, the Japanese leader will arrive in Jakarta this Sunday and hold talks with President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo on the same day.
“We have made preparations and simulations to smoothen the upcoming talks (with Japanese delegation),” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters at the State Palace on Wednesday (11/1) as reported by koran.tempo.co.
Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia from Australia this Sunday, accompanied by 30 prominent Japanese businesspeople. Besides the two countries, the Japanese leader is also scheduled to visit the Philippines and Vietnam within the coming week.
Here are the expectations of some Indonesian ministers concerning Prime Minister Abe’s visit.
Minister of Maritime and Fishery Susi Pudjiastuti expects that the visit of the Japanese prime minister and the 30 Japanese businesspeople will open way for new types of cooperation in the fishery sector. They could be Japan’s support for the building of new seaports for fishing vessels in areas like Sabang (Aceh), Morotai (Maluku) and Muara Baru (North Jakarta), Minister Susi noted. Indonesia’s fishery sector also needs high-tech cold storage facilities, for which Japan can help, according to Minister Susi as reported by Koran Tempo. Indonesia is Japan’s fish supplier.
Meanwhile, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Chairman Thomas Lembong is hopeful the economic police packages introduced by President Jokowi’s administration will provide special strength to lure new Japanese investors to come in.
Thomas Lembong had last November visited Japan to promote the economic packages and new business opportunities in Indonesia. In Tokyo, he addressed 350 Japanese business people.
Hopefully, Prime Minister Abe’s visit will make way a clear future for several planned projects to be supported by Japan. They include the Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed train; the oil and gas refinery project in Maluku; and the Patimban seaport project in West Java.
Source : Global Indonesian Voices